Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) And Carbon Monoxide Inside A Car And A Subway-train

Abstract

Significant concentrations of volatile organic compounds can be present in the interior of vehicles due to emissions from materials being part of the interior fittings and to combustion and evaporation emissions of the fuel. Two times in 1995 and 1996 carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO:), aromatic hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), diesel motor emission (estimated as elementary carbon) were determined in the inside of a car (a two year old VW Golf with a three-way catalyst) and in a subway-train. On each sampling day (in total 16 daily measurements in the car and 16 in the subway) the substances were determined in the breathing zone of the passengers from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. under different meteorologic conditions (winterand summertime). The car route followed the subway from the western borough of Spandau to the south-east borough of Neukolln, there and back. This sampling represented a realistic exposure model for driving in a high traffic and polluted area The electric subway-train (also two years in use) connected the same parts of Berlin ( 31 km underground) At present only the results of the aromatic hydrocarbons, PAH (partial) and carbon monoxide can be presented in this paper. The mean values obtained during the two measurement periods inside the car were 22/22 ng/nf (maximum 26/35 ng/nv*) for benzene, 69/90 ng/nf for toluene, 38/69 ug/nf for m-,p-xylene, 15/25 ng/nf for o-xylene. 14/23 ug/nf for ethylbenzene and 1.0/3.2 ng/nf for benzo(a)pyrene. The mean values obtained in the subway were 5.4/7.4 ug/nv* (maximum 7/16 ug/nf) for benzene, 33/31 ng/nf for toluene, 15/12 ng/nf for m-,p-xylene, 5.4/4.7 ng/nf for o-xylene, 5.5/4.4 ng/nf for ethylbenzene and 0.7/4.0 ng/nf for benzo(a)pyrene A comparison between subway and car shows significantly lower concentrations of the aromatic hydrocarbons and higher concentrations of PAH in the subway train. In wintertime Transactions on Ecology and the Environment vol 15, © 1997 WIT Press, www.witpress.com, ISSN 1743-3541