Articles | Volume 4, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-4-547-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/ar-4-547-2026
Research article
 | 
04 Nov 2026
Research article |  | 04 Nov 2026

Inhalation of small particles (PM2.5) in urban road tunnels and underground in Madrid (Spain) – a citizen science project

Ángel López-Encuentra, Esther Gil Cid, and Luis Miguel Pozo Coronado

Cited articles

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Ayuntamiento de Madrid: Calidad del aire de los túneles de la M-30, https://mc30.es/servicios/seguridad/instalaciones/ (last ccess: 1 October 2026), 2026a. 
Ayuntamiento de Madrid: Portal de datos abiertos, Calidad del aire, Estaciones de control, https://datos.madrid.es/portal/site/egob/menuitem.c05c1f754a33 (last access: 26 September 2026), 2026b. 
Bigert, C., Alderling, M., Svartengren, M., Plato, N., de Faire, U., and Gustavsson, P.: Blood markers of inflammation and coagulation and exposure to airborne particles in employees in the Stockholm underground, Occup. Environ. Med., 65, 655–658, https://doi.org/10.1136/oem.2007.038273, 2008. 
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Short summary
In road tunnels and the metro, there are small toxic airborne particles (PM2.5). In Madrid (Spain), there is no public information on PM2.5 in these infrastructures. One alternative is for citizen scientists to use validated low-cost sensors. Data from these sensors were compared with reference station data; their correlation was high. PM2.5 levels in Madrid’s tunnels and metro exceed 10 µg m–3 and are above the 2011 World Health Organization guideline.
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