Analysis of Benzene Exposure Levels on Commuters Traveling within the Metropolitan Area of Costa Rica
| Autor: | Ricardo Sánchez-Murillo, Wendy Villalobos-Gonzalez, Germain Esquivel-Hernández, José Leonardo Corrales-Salazar, Juan Valdés-González |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
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| Zdroj: | Open Journal of Air Pollution. :38-46 |
| ISSN: | 2169-2661 2169-2653 |
| Popis: | This study reports the benzene exposure levels of commuters traveling within the metropolitan area of Costa Rica using personal cars, buses, and urban trains. 47 in-vehicle samples were col- lected in the 2014 wet season under three different driving conditions: rush hour traffic, normal traffic and weekends. Samples were collected in Tedlar bags and analyzed using 75 µm carboxen- polydimethylsiloxane (CAR/PDMS) and gas chromatography with flame ionization detection (GC- FID). Additionally, duplicate samples were collected on adsorption tubes filled with Tenax TA and analyzed by thermal desorption (TD) and GC-FID. Results indicate that travelling in cars and buses under rush hour conditions exposes commuters to statistically equal average benzene concentra- tion of 48.7 and 51.6 µg/m3, respectively. Average benzene levels in urban trains (33.0 µg/m3) were measured only during morning rush hours. Greater benzene levels in buses than personal cars concentrations may be attributable to the immersion of traffic-related emission within the bus ca- bins. Factors, such as the driving pattern, the number of vehicles on the route, the road infrastruc- ture, and the prevalence of gasoline-fueled vehicles in Costa Rica, may increase ambient benzene concentrations. Benzene levels inside car cabins reported in this study are in the range of those reported in other urban areas; however, the corresponding concentrations inside buses and urban trains (rush hour only) are higher than previously published exposure levels. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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