A comparison of personal exposure to air pollutants in different travel modes on national highways in India

Abstract

People often travel a long distance on highways to the nearest city for professional/business activities. However, relatively few publications on passenger exposure to pollutants on highways in India or elsewhere are available. The aim of this study was to examine the contribution of different travel modes to passengers' pollutant exposure for a long distance travel on a national highway in India. We measured PM2.5 and CO exposure levels of the passengers over 200km on a national highway using two portable air monitors, EVM-7 and EPAM-5000. Personal concentration exposures and per min-, per hour-, per trip- and round trip mass exposures for three travel modes were calculated for 9 trips. Association between pollutants and weather variables were evaluated using levels Spearman correlation. ANOVA was carried out to evaluate the influence of travel mode, the timing of trips, temperature and RH on personal exposures. On an average, PM2.5 personal concentration exposure levels were highest in the car (85.41±61.85μgm−3), followed by the bus (75.08±55.39μgm−3) and lowest in the car (ac) (54.43±34.09μgm−3). In contrast, CO personal exposure was highest in the car (ac) (1.81±1.3ppm). Travel mode explained the highest variability for CO (18.1%), CO2 (9.9%), PM2.5 (1.2%) exposures. In-city mass exposures were higher than trip averages; PM2.5:1.21–1.22, 1.13–1.19 and 1.03–1.28 times; CO: 1.20–1.57, 1.37–2.10 and 1.76–2.22 times for bus, car and car (ac) respectively. Traveling by car (ac) results in the lowest PM2.5 exposures, although it exposes the passenger to high CO level. Avoiding national highways passing through cities can reduce up to 25% PM2.5 and 50% CO mass exposures. This information can be useful for increasing environmental awareness among the passengers and for framing better pollution control strategies on highways.