From: jym@mica.berkeley.edu (Jym Dyer)
Newsgroups: rec.bicycles
Subject: Re: effects of car exhaust?
Followup-To: rec.bicycles,talk.environment
Date: 29 Sep 92 21:16:53
Organization: The Naughty Peahen Party Line
	<1992Sep25.100018.1@research.ptt.nl>
NNTP-Posting-Host: remarque.berkeley.edu
In-reply-to: walvdrk_r@research.ptt.nl's message of 25 Sep 92 08:00:18 GMT

=o= I've recently posted something about this to
rec.bicycles.soc _et_al_.  It's attached below.
    <_Jym_>
__
It's no exaggeration to say the undecideds could go
one way or another.
    -- President George Bush.
=============8<=============Cut-Here=============8<=============
From: jym@mica.berkeley.edu (Greenpeace via Jym Dyer)
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism,rec.bicycles.soc,sci.environment,talk.environment
Subject: INFO: Pollution Levels Inside Cars Up to 18 Times Higher Than Outside
Date: 23 Sep 92 05:48:38 GMT

[Greenpeace Press Release from Greenbase -- Redistribute Freely]
  
POLLUTION LEVELS INSIDE CARS UP TO EIGHTEEN TIMES THOSE OUTSIDE,
SAYS GREENPEACE REPORT
  
LONDON September 9, 1992 (GP) A report commissioned by
Greenpeace from Earth Resources Research shows that in many
traffic conditions pollution levels inside cars can be up to
eighteen times higher [1] than those in "ambient" air outside.

(The term "ambient air" in this study refers to the air tested
simultaneously at fixed monitoring stations located 50 and 100
metres from a roadside.)
  
The report shows that cars do not provide protection to drivers
and passengers from pollution from traffic.  Drivers can be
exposed to even higher levels of health-damaging pollutants than
those experienced by cyclists and pedestrians [2].
  
The research is compiled from studies in Britain, Europe and the
United States which compare levels of traffic pollutants within
cars to those in "ambient" air at a fixed point 50 - 100m away
from the vehicle and road.
  
Elevated pollution levels were found in both slow moving urban
traffic and during motorway journeys [3]. Slower speeds,
congested traffic, vehicle age and use of the heater can
increase concentrations of pollutants within vehicles [4].
  
"There is no safe haven from traffic pollution," said Charlie
Kronick, Greenpeace Transport Campaigner. "Winding up the window
won't help: drivers cannot simply shut themselves away from the
effects of the pollution they create. The only real solution is
to cut the number of cars on our roads."
  
The Greenpeace report examines levels of three main pollutants:
volatile organic compounds (VOCs) - including benzene, carbon
monoxide and nitrogen dioxide.
  
The research shows that levels of nitrogen dioxide and carbon
monoxide within cars can exceed WHO or EC recommended safety
limits for "ambient" air [5]. Carbon monoxide concentrations can
reach levels up to 8 times higher than in the ambient air [6].
Both pollutants are known to have detrimental effects on health.
  
Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) can damage the smallest passages of the
lungs and increase susceptibility to respiratory infection.  NO2
can trigger asthma attacks directly, or may make asthmatics more
susceptible to other factors which may trigger attacks.  Carbon
monoxide (CO) is particularly dangerous for sufferers of
ischaemic heart disease and pregnant women.  [7].
  
The World Health Organization (WHO) states that "no safe level
for airborne benzene can be recommended as it is carcinogenic to
humans and there is no known safe threshold level" [8]. Research
shows that the average exposure of drivers to benzene can be as
much as eighteen times higher than that experienced in ambient
air [9].
  
Greenpeace is accusing the UK Government of refusing to
acknowledge the severity of the health threat posed by traffic
pollutants.  The Government is failing to take the necessary
action to eliminate this problem which, as this report shows,
affects car users as well as pedestrians and cyclists.
  
Increases in traffic as projected by the Government (up to 142%
by 2025 [10]) will exacerbate the situation. Recent data from
the US, where the majority of vehicles now use catalytic
converters, still shows high levels of pollution.
  
Last month a Greenpeace report "Gasping for Change" showed how
20 million people - a third of the population of England - are
at risk from the health effects of ambient traffic pollution
[11].  Greenpeace is undertaking further research to determine
whether others now fall into those "at risk" groups.
  
The Exposure of Car Drivers and Passengers to Vehicle Emissions:  
Comparative Pollutant Levels Inside and Outside Vehicles.  2.50, 
Available from Public Information, Greenpeace UK, 
Canonbury Villas, London N1 2PN 
  
REFERENCES:
  
[1] Tonkelaar, W den, 1983, Exposure of Car Passengers to CO,
NO, NO2, Benzene, Toluene and Lead, TNO Research Institute for
Environmental Hygiene, Delft, The Netherlands.
  
[2] Hickman, AJ, 1989, Personal Exposures to Carbon Monoxides
and Oxides of Nitrogen, Research Report 206, Transport and Road
Research Laboratory, Berkshire.
  
[3] See reference 1
  
[4] Shikiya D, Liu C S, Kahn M I, Bargikowski W, and Juarros J,
1989, In Vehicle Air Toxics Characterisation Study in the South
Coast Air Basin of California, Air and Waste Management
Association, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
  
[5] see reference 2 and Chan C-C, Ozkaynak H, Spengler J D, and
Sheldon L, 1991, Driver Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds,
CO, Ozone and NO2 Under Different Driving Conditions,
Environmental Science and Technology vol 25, pp.964-72.
  
[6] see reference 1
  
[7] Read C, 1991, Air Pollution and Child Health, Greenpeace,
London.
  
[8] WHO, 1987, Air Quality Guidelines for Europe, World Health
Organisation Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen.
  
[9] see reference 1
  
[10] Department of Transport, 1989, National Road Traffic
Forecasts (Great Britain) 1989, HMSO, London.
  
[11] Populations at Risk from Ambient Air Pollution: A Report
for Greenpeace UK, 1992, Greenpeace, London.