Assessing and Reducing Fine and Ultrafine Particles Inside Los Angeles Taxis

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lin Y ; Shu S ; Yu N ; Zhu Y
• Description:
  Taxi drivers and passengers are exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollutants, but their exposures to fine (PM2.5) and ultrafine particles (UFPs) and related mitigation strategies are rarely explored. In this study, UFP and PM2.5 concentrations were monitored concurrently inside and outside of 22 taxis under different ventilation and mitigation conditions. Under realistic working conditions (no mitigation; NM), the average UFP and PM2.5 levels inside taxis were 1.46 x 104 particles/cm3 and 26ug/m3, respectively. When the taxi ventilation was set to outside air mode and the windows kept closed, in-cabin UFP and PM2.5 concentrations are significantly associated with on-road concentrations, driving speed, and cabin air filter usage. The average in-cabin to on-roadway (I/O) ratios for UFP and PM2.5 were reduced from 0.60 to 0.75 under NM, to 0.47 and 0.52 under the most stringent mitigation strategy of keeping the windows closed and operating a high efficiency cabin air filter (WC + HECA). Among all tested taxi models, Toyota Prius exhibited the lowest UFP and PM2.5 I/O ratios under WC + HECA. Switching cabin air filters from the originally equipped manufacturer filter (OEM) to a HECA filter reduced the UFP and PM2.5 I/O ratios most effectively in Toyota Prius taxis as well. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Air Pollutants, Occupational Air Pollution Automobiles Occupational Health Particulate Matter Safety Transportation Ventilation
• Keywords:
  Air Analysis Airborne Particulates Air Filters Air Pollutants Air Quality Monitoring Author Keywords: Ultrafine Particles Breathing Atmospheres Drivers Exposure I/O Ratio In-cabin Motor Vehicles PM2.5 Taxi Transportation Industry

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• ISSN:
  1352-2310
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  California ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  155-163
• Volume:
  181
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20053187
• Citation:
  Atmos Environ 2018 May; 181:155-163
• Contact Point Address:
  Yifang Zhu, 51-295B CHS, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Jonathan and Karin Fielding School of Public Health, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1772, United States
• Email:
  yifang@ucla.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  University of California, Los Angeles
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20120731
• Source Full Name:
  Atmospheric Environment
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:01413a847c80723e7ee32daf3dc0db941c0d0150970ae676e8cd55eac3bb5c0990282c07dde05f19317a2b8d62e91841b3eb4e5e38f2d30d8027845dc3797ebc
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215997/cdc_215997_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 587.28 KB ]