Running near a highway increases inhalation of particulate matter
the verdict
SUPPORTED
the evidence backs this
refutedsupported
the weight of evidence
4 sources for · 0 against
Peer-reviewed literature demonstrates that traffic density near highways increases mass particulate concentrations and that exposure in these areas leads to the inhalation of airborne particulates.
Abstract The current study was an attempt to measure ambient air quality in term of PM 2.5 and associated heavy metals at two different sites near very busy crossing on National Highway with the help of fine particulate dust sampler. The Average mass concentration for PM 2.5 was 77.59μg/m 3 and 72.86μg/m 3 at semi-urban and urban sites. From the outcomes it was determined that the influence of PM 2.5 concentrations was greater at the Semi-urban than urban site. Concentrations of PM 2.5 have been compared with WHO, NAAQS and USEPA standards and was found to be exceeded than prescribed limit. Among analyzed heavy metals, Ca (11.652 µg/m 3 ), showed the highest concentration due to various construction materials, such as cement, brick lime and concrete as well as road dust, accompanied by Al (1.397µg/m 3 ) and Fe (0.973µg/m 3 ). The concentration of metals followed the trend Ca > Al > Fe > K > Pb > Mn> Co > Cr > Cu > Ni and Ca > Al > Fe > K > Mn > Pb> Cr > Ni > Cu > Co at both the sites. The Enrichment factor (EF) values concluded that Al, K, Fe, and Mn as less enriched (EF< 10) while Co and Pb had been classified as very highly enriched (EF>100). Hazard Quotient (HQ) for Al, Cr, Mn, and Ni is lower than the safe level (HQ= 1) whereas Excess Lifetime Cancer Risk (ELCR) of Cr (VI) and Ni exceeded the respective safer limit ELCR≥ 10 -6 indicating long-term exposure to particulate-bound toxic metals via inhalation could lead to cancer in approximately one child and four adults per million.
Blood lead levels in sheep exposed to automotive emissions. The lead content of whole blood of 62 sheep grazed continuously for 6 months near a major highway was compared with 38 sheep from a nearby uncontaminated area. Mean values of 0.90 and 0.20 microgram/ml were obtained. Four sheep from the contaminated area were placed in an uncontaminated paddock and the lead content of the blood decreased rapidly during the first 10 days and thereafter more slowly. After 185 days, blood lead levels had still not quite reached normal levels. Animal from an uncontaminated area showed an immediate rise in the blood lead levels when placed near a major highway. Sheep placed in a concrete pen away from motor vehicle exhaust emissions showed a rise in lead levels when fed with forage cut from the verges of a busy highway. Sheep placed near a highway and fed with forage from an uncontaminated area showed an increase of lead levels in the blood, comparable to that of the previous experiment. It was concluded that lead uptake by ingestion of polluted forage and by inhalation of airborne particulates are both mechanisms responsible for enhanced lead levels in ovine blood.
The size of suspended particulate matter in air. By means of the NASN cascade impactor the particle sizes of ambient aerosols can be measured by fractionating the particles according to their aerodynamic dimensions, and the fractions can be quantified gravimetrically. Data obtained with this instrument show that particulate matter suspended in urban air in the United States and Great Britain is remarkably uniform in distribution and that the particles are predominantly less than 1 microm in diameter. In Ankara, Turkey, the high proportion of particles larger than 1 microm in diameter are associated with the incomplete combustion of lignite; particulate concentrations in Ankara, however, are considerably higher than those measured elsewhere. The growth of particles in air during temperature inversions occurs in Cincinnati; the greater proportion of large particles found there during inversion periods can account for the reduction in visibility. Aerosols in the vicinity of highways are composed of particles larger than those found some distance away because of the reentrainment of debris by the traffic-induced turbulence.
[Air pollution by motor vehicles along the freeways].
Total mass particulates and benzopyrenes have been determined to evaluate the specific pollution by vehicles on a section (6 km) of a highway. The traffic density generated an increase of 30% mass particulates in nighttime and 44% during daylight. Concentrations of benzopyrenes in air have doubled compared to the period before traffic.
Published in Sozial- und Praventivmedizin
Everything we examined (4)
This check searched the claim as stated. It did not run a separate search for evidence against it.