Anya Sherman, an environmental scientist at the Center for Microbiology and Environmental Systems Science (CeMESS) at the University of Vienna. During this process, she discovered extreme air quality problems due to rubber abrasion from climbing shoes in indoor bouldering gyms. Sherman was the principal investigator for a recent study, published in the journal ACS ES&T Air. Together with her colleague Thilo Hofmann, she drew attention to the decidedly acute levels of air pollution in such settings. Their study suggests that the particulate matter generated by climbing activities can lead to lung disease in climbers.
To find out, Sherman sampled air using an impinger – a simple yet highly effective device that measures particles in the air by trapping them. She was able to bring this idea to life while researching in various bouldering gyms across Vienna. Her thesis objectives were to determine the effects of rubber shoe abrasion on indoor air quality. One of the most significant findings was just how high the air pollution levels were. This exposes the danger to climbers’ health posed by the very facilities largely used by them.
Research Collaboration and Methodology
Anya Sherman’s research was greatly enhanced by working with Professor Lea Ann Daily’s research group. As a team, they collected air samples from bouldering gyms, using scientific precision to determine what the climbing shoes were made of. Sherman likened the strides in soles to other high-performance materials, such as those found in car tires. What he emphasized was the incredible similarity in their structure.
Sherman’s team had a major breakthrough when pulling together data from 30 pairs of climbing shoes. To their surprise, they found an entire cocktail of contaminants that mirrored those found in automotive products. Significantly, they detected 15 rubber additives in the soles, including 6PPD, a chemical known to be an important contributor to its potential health dangers. Sherman went an equally strict route that almost mimicked the methods of automotive tire testing. …we need to do a better job of understanding how these materials are affecting our air quality.”
Like Sherman, like many young researchers, their path to research victory was fraught with twists and turns. This unusual connection sparked a firestorm of debate about what their findings mean for our nation’s future. Their message was clear, we need to protect the environmental health impacts of indoor climbing environments.
Implications for Climbing Communities
The implications of Sherman’s research go far past academia. She stresses the importance of companies that produce climbing shoes to explore other materials that have less toxic chemicals. She strongly advocated for change to happen immediately within the profession. We need to move to single materials that have less toxic stuff in them,” she said.
Gym operators have been incredibly enthusiastic and collaborative when it came to conducting this research. With growing awareness of air quality issues, many are eager to implement strategies that could mitigate pollution levels in their facilities. Sherman’s work aims not only to highlight these problems but to encourage proactive measures that can enhance climbers’ safety and health.
Anya Sherman finds climbing to be a great counterbalance to her time spent in the lab and at the computer. This personal passion of hers fuels her commitment to making a safer environment for other climbers. As more people pursue the sport of indoor climbing, the need to know about and mitigate poor air quality is more important than ever.