We will think twice before going to live in an apartment with a view of the ring road.

Airparif has just published the results of a study measuring ultrafine particles near roads in the Ile-de-France region.

And the results are disturbing to say the least.

So, do not confuse ultrafine particles and fine particles, better known.

The first have "a diameter of less than 100 nanometers, less than the size of a virus", specifies the study.

The seconds are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, hence their name PM2.5.

Lack of luck, “the smaller the particles, the greater their impact on health would be”, indicates Airparif.

For the moment, ultrafine particles are unregulated but they are the subject of growing health concerns and recommendations to strengthen their monitoring from ANSES in France and the WHO internationally.

Peaks at 300,000 particles/cm3

Going back to the study, the measurements were carried out during the summer of 2021 and here are the results:

The levels of ultrafine particles measured vary widely from one road axis to another: from 16,600 particles/cm3 measured on average near a Parisian boulevard to 53,300 particles/cm3 measured near a national road, via 23,200 particles/cm3 measured near the Paris ring road.

By way of comparison, the Airparif reference station located far from automobile traffic recorded 9,200 particles/cm3 over the same period.

We therefore have, near the main roads, quantities of ultrafine particles 2 to 5 times higher than normal.

In detail, the approved air quality monitoring association notes that “levels of ultrafine particles are particularly high in the morning and evening, during peak traffic”.

Airparif even notes “hourly peaks exceeding 300,000 particles/cm3 […] along one of the axes”, ie more than 30 times the reference measurement!



But Airparif does not stop there in its monitoring of these nanoparticles since the next campaign “will assess the levels of ultrafine particles near airport platforms in the Ile-de-France region”.

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  • Paris

  • Airparif

  • Pollution

  • Fine particles

  • Ile-de-France

  • Outlying street