Author(s)

F. Patania, G. Siracusa, A Gagliano & F. Nocera

Abstract

Air quality inside cars moving into urban traffic in Catania city: the exposure to the carbon monoxide F. Patania1, G. Siracusa2, A. Gagliano1 & F. Nocera1 1 D.I.I.M, Environmental Applied Physics Group. 2 D.M.F. C.I., Department of Physical and Chemical Methodologies for Engineering, Catania University, Italy Abstract It is well known that gaseous emissions coming from urban traffic represent one of the main sources of air pollution for almost Italian cities. It is well known too that every day a lot of people commutes to work spending a strong dose of time inside vehicles but the same people do not realises how much it is important for health to have good air quality inside vehicle. Aim of research is to correlate air quality inside car with that one outdoor measured on the move along streets in the old town of Catania city. In the research people analysed different operating features that characterize localized urban pollution, that is: width of streets, height of side buildings, type of traffic flow and meteorological conditions. The tracer gas concentrations have been measured both inside and outdoor vehicles moving along the streets. To validate outdoor pollution data, people compared measures in loco with that ones recorded by the Catania network of environmental steady stations. In this way it has been possible to carry out some first connections correlating CO concentration inside and outdoor car. Introduction Both people and drivers spending time into old town of Catania are exposed to vehicle exhaust consisting of gaseous pollutants as like as CO gas, utilised as tracer gas in the research.

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