Exposure to airborne organic compounds inside passenger vehicles

Exposure to airborne organic compounds inside passenger vehicles depends on several variables, including the type of fuels used by the car, age of the vehicle, engine capacity, intrusion of combustion products from other vehicles and the mechanical state of the vehicle. In this paper we report the result of a pilot study of the levels of volatile organic compounds, carbonyl compounds and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a selection of passenger vehicles that were powered by diesel, unleaded petrol and liquefied petroleum gas. Application of hierarchial multivariate modelling to the data revealed the factors that are important in determining the patterns and levels of the pollutants found in the vehicles. In particular, it was observed that the type of fuel was important in determining the level of PAHs while the age of vehicles influenced the levels of the carbonyl compounds. These results as well as exposure reduction strategies are discussed.