September 20, 2019
Every day, one in five French people commute to work by bicycle. However, cycling in the city could be dangerous for your health. The cause is atmospheric pollution linked mainly to road traffic.
Pollution in the city, the second cause of preventable death
In France, air pollution generated by road traffic but also industry and heating is the second cause of preventable death behind tobacco. According to Public Health France, pollution is said to kill around 48,000 people each year. According to the agency, exposure to fine particles is very harmful or even fatal and leads to cancer as well as cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.
For Pierre Souvet, the president of the French Environmental Health Association (Asef), interviewed by BFMTV.com, it is not so much the quantity of particles absorbed by the body but their composition which is dangerous. He explains that pollution could also be the cause of brain damage.
Where to pedal?
The Ministry of Solidarity and Health recommends cycling in the city and declares that the benefits of this physical activity would outweigh the risks. According to the ministry, cycling is also possible during a pollution episode, except for vulnerable and sensitive people, which cardiologist Pierre Souvet does not approve of. On the contrary, he thinks that practicing an intense activity in an area affected by pollution is dangerous. Indeed, following the cars and breathing the fine particles that come out of the exhaust pipes exposes us directly.
The doctor advises instead to move away as much as possible from too dense areas and important roads. He recommends to find a route with more vegetation, perhaps a park or wooded areas even if it means taking an electric bike to get far enough away from pollution. For him, the car is not the best alternative since motorists are even more exposed than pedestrians and cyclists. Indeed, the concentration of pollutants contained inside the passenger compartment is three to five times higher inside.
Stephanie Haerts
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