Rush Hour Pollution May Be More Dangerous Than You Think July 21, 2017 In-car air study of commuting cars finds dangers to human health By Ken Kingery Duke University DURHAM, N.C. -- The first in-car measurements of exposure to pollutants that cause oxidative stress during rush hour commutes has turned up potentially alarming results. The levels of some forms of harmful particulate matter inside car cabins was found to be twice as high as previously believed.
Most traffic pollution sensors are placed on the ground alongside the road and take continuous samples for a 24-hour period. Exhaust composition, however, changes rapidly enough for drivers to experience different conditions inside their vehicles than these roadside sensors. Long-term sampling also misses nuanced variabilities caused by road congestion and environmental conditions. To explore what drivers are actually exposed to during rush hour, researchers from Duke University, Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology strapped specially designed sampling devices into the passenger seats of cars during morning rush hour commutes in downtown Atlanta. The devices detected up to twice as much particulate matter as the roadside sensors. The team also found that the pollution contained twice the amount of chemicals that cause oxidative stress, which is thought to be involved in the development of many diseases including respiratory and heart disease, cancer, and some types of neurodegenerative diseases. The results were published on June 27 in the journal Atmospheric Environment.
3 Comments
9/12/2017 09:44:25 am
It is really dangerous when a lot of vehicles get jammed together. Because this would have a massive effect on our ozone layer. And also this may affect the health of the drivers and passenger who have their windows down. Because they may inhale the exhaust coming from the vehicles. I think one of the solution for the is that people should start on car pooling. Because they would save their money and their gas.
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rrrr
9/19/2017 09:45:20 pm
NIce
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9/21/2017 12:04:47 am
I never thought that traffics can also affect the health of a person. Even though people are just sitting in their cars while waiting for the traffic to move, they are still prone to getting diseases that are the cause of the traffic. This is the first time I read this and I truly believe that this is an alarming matter. A possible reason why we experienced such heavy traffics is that a lot of people own cars. We would rather buy our own car rather than use public transportation.
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January 2018
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