The Breathing Zone — School Bus Air Quality Exposure

Filters

Inhalation Exposure Index

Severe (IEI 80–100)

High (65–79)

Moderate (45–64)

Low (under 45)

School location

Poverty vs. Exposure

Each dot = one bus route · r = 0.82

About

Children on school buses spend 30–90 minutes/day breathing air along heavily trafficked corridors. Diesel buses produce their own emissions, and routes through industrial zones and freeways compound exposure.

The Inhalation Exposure Index combines PM2.5 and NO2 levels sampled at 100m intervals along each route, weighted by estimated time spent at each point.

Data: EPA AQS · PurpleAir (corrected) · Caltrans AADT · NCES CCD