Vehicle air pollution

sevenhills

The further away from the road, the less air the pollution.
People in a vehicle are the ones that inhale the most air pollution.


Just wondering whether in-car filters offer any protection, or are they just pollen filters?
How much air comes into the car from places other than the vehicles inlet system at the front?



Finally, at the end of Michael’s walk, he hopped into a taxi. Surprisingly, this is actually where he was exposed to the highest levels of pollution. Dr Barratt confirmed that this is a common observation in congested traffic because each vehicle’s air inlet sits just behind the exhaust of the vehicle in front. It wasnt surprising at all, the people in vehicle are the ones that inhale the most air pollution.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3mXHDs31VgMfhdlhDngnBdN/should-i-worry-about-air-pollution?fbclid=IwAR0no5NFSeJqoyZq-DK6FHMjAXvzPiDKFeDlkJ4SD4hmUgLaBWHdlQLxs7Q

nickcc

sevenhills wrote: »

The further away from the road, the less air the pollution.
People in a vehicle are the ones that inhale the most air pollution.


Just wondering whether in-car filters offer any protection, or are they just pollen filters?
How much air comes into the car from places other than the vehicles inlet system at the front?



Finally, at the end of Michael’s walk, he hopped into a taxi. Surprisingly, this is actually where he was exposed to the highest levels of pollution. Dr Barratt confirmed that this is a common observation in congested traffic because each vehicle’s air inlet sits just behind the exhaust of the vehicle in front. It wasnt surprising at all, the people in vehicle are the ones that inhale the most air pollution.



https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/3mXHDs31VgMfhdlhDngnBdN/should-i-worry-about-air-pollution?fbclid=IwAR0no5NFSeJqoyZq-DK6FHMjAXvzPiDKFeDlkJ4SD4hmUgLaBWHdlQLxs7Q

All the cars I've owned have the air intake for the car interior in front of the windscreen, the air intake for the engine is usually behind the front grille.

sevenhills

nickcc wrote: »

All the cars I've owned have the air intake for the car interior in front of the windscreen, the air intake for the engine is usually behind the front grille.

So when you drive 20' behind a bus/lorry, your air intake are 30' away and you are breathing in some of its exhaust fumes?

Norman_Castle

Just wondering whether in-car filters offer any protection, or are they just pollen filters?
How much air comes into the car from places other than the vehicles inlet system at the front?

Pollen filters are unlikely to offer much protection against the poisons in exhaust fumes. With the windows closed all the air passing through the car will be from the front vents.


"Avoid leaving the car idling or “ticking over”, especially near schools." I'm sure this is becoming more common. If schools were in areas suffering from pollution the parents would expect it to stop but they insist on increasing the pollution outside the schools every day. Idiots.
Its also now common to find people sitting in cars in supermarket car parks with the engines running. Stupid.

Norman_Castle

sevenhills wrote: »

So when you drive 20' behind a bus/lorry, your air intake are 30' away and you are breathing in some of its exhaust fumes?

Yes, I changed lane today at least 50 feet behind a diesel van going uphill because I could smell the fumes. They were visible and probably worse than average but cleaner car fumes would travel into a car the same way.

Car_54

sevenhills wrote: »

So when you drive 20' behind a bus/lorry, your air intake are 30' away and you are breathing in some of its exhaust fumes?

Only if you have a 10’ long bonnet.

[Deleted User]

Aircon and air circulation on and windows closed when in traffic. If I don’t do that I can smell the fumes in the car which can’t be good.

nickcc

sevenhills wrote: »

So when you drive 20' behind a bus/lorry, your air intake are 30' away and you are breathing in some of its exhaust fumes?

Just pointing out that the air inlet is not as close as stated. If I find unpleasant vapours are entering the car I just switch to recirculate which solves the problem.

sevenhills

nickcc wrote: »

Just pointing out that the air inlet is not as close as stated. If I find unpleasant vapours are entering the car I just switch to recirculate which solves the problem.

You are probably breating in polluted air all the time and are used to it, we only notice it when it gets really bad.

coffeehound

Diesel particulates are mostly a lot smaller than pollen, so the cabin filter won't block diesel fumes. It's surprising no-one has invented an electrostatic filter for cars yet so that the smallest soot particles can be trapped.

AdrianC

coffeehound wrote: »

Diesel particulates are mostly a lot smaller than pollen, so the cabin filter won't block diesel fumes. It's surprising no-one has invented an electrostatic filter for cars yet so that the smallest soot particles can be trapped.

Cost - both to manufacture and fit, and to maintain.

The filter element would need cleaning very regularly to maintain any kind of effectiveness.

But what are we focussing on here?
Particulates? They've dropped massively in recent years.
Odour? Not in itself harmful.
Other pollutants? NOx is the current actual health problem in many cities, especially London. It's odourless and invisible.