App reveals most polluted London Underground routes to travel on | Pollution

Like most Londoners, Tanya Beri has mixed views of the city’s vast underground rail network that carries millions of passengers every day on its 11 lines and through its 272

stations. The tube keeps London moving, though often in cramped, uncomfortable and unhygienic conditions.However, Beri believes she has found a way to improve travel for concerned

commuters. She has developed a phone app that can direct passengers to routes that offer minimal air pollution.“The UK safe limit for healthy air is to have fewer than 25 small

particles in a cubic metre of air,” said Beri. “In some places on the underground, it can top 200 per cubic metre. I want to help people avoid that.”Studies have suggested

that long-term exposure to fine particulates could be linked to increased rates of chronic bronchitis and increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease.Beri, 29, will be

given one of Innovate UK’s Young Innovators awards at a ceremony this week for her work on developing the app. She will be among the 94 young entrepreneurs who will receive some

£1.25m in grants to help them tackle some of biggest challenges facing society in Britain. Other inventions to be given awards range from cheap alternatives to plastic based on

onion skins to a smart medication dispenser that promotes patient independence.Beri’s app suggests routes that provide the lowest risk of breathing air with high pollution

levels. “It’s like a TfL [Transport for London] or Google app but instead of offering the speediest journey between destinations it provides routes with the lowest air

pollution,” she said.An example is provided by a passenger from North Harrow tube station to Canary Wharf, part of London’s business district, said Beri. “If you go the

quickest way, via the Jubilee line, then you face pollution that is about 220 particles per cubic metre. If you take the slower route and stay on the Metropolitan line, you will

face pollution of about 50 particles per cubic metre. That is still over the safe limit but it is less than a quarter of what you would experience on the Jubilee

line.”Researchers have found the underground lines with the most polluted air are the Northern, Bakerloo, Jubilee and Victoria – because they are the deepest. By contrast,

lines such as the Metropolitan, Circle and District have stations that are nearer the surface or are actually at surface level and so are better ventilated compared with deep lines

where insufficient airflow allows particulates to accumulate.In one study by scientists at King’s College London, it was found that particulate concentrations in trains on the