Evaluation of Volatile Organic Compounds Levels inside Taxis Passing through Main Streets of Tehran
-
MOHAMMAD JAVAD GOLHOSSEINI
,
HOSSEIN KAKOOEI
,
SEYED JAMALEDDIN SHAHTAHERI
,
MANSOUR REZAZADEH-AZARI
,
KAMAL AZAM
Abstract
Air quality inside commuting vehicles has seldom been evaluated in Iran. Accordingly, this study investigates the levels of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene (BTEX) during workdays characterized by heavy traffic inside taxis in Tehran- Iran between May 2009 and October 2010. The totals of 35 personal samples were collected onto solid sorbent tubes and the concentration of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were analysed by gas chromatography technique equipped with flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The arithmetic means of personal monitoring of BTEX concentrations inside vehicles were found 72.77, 93.91, 9.90 and 4.23 ppb respectively. Exposures to BTEX during traffic flow in the evening were considerably higher than those measured in the morning. The weekdays BTEX level of inside vehicles illustrated significant differences among the studied months (p<0.05). The BTEX concentration ratios were estimated to be related to traffic emissions and similar for all the surveyed routes. In conclusion, the results confirmed that the emission of BTEX and their concentrations being highly associated with traffic jam as well as changes in meteorological conditions.
Jo WK, Yu CH. Public bus and taxicab drivers' exposure to aromatic work-time volatile organic compounds. Environmental Research 2001; 86:66-72.
Kingham S, Meaton J, Sheard A, Lawrenson O. Assessment of exposure to traffic-related fumes during the journey to work. Transportation Research Part D: Transport and Environment 1998; 3:271-274.
Behrentz E, Fitz DR, Pankratz DV, Sabin LD, Colome SD, Fruin SA, Winer AM. Measuring self-pollution in school buses using a tracer gas technique. Atmospheric Environment 2004; 38:3735-3746.
Parra MA, Elustondo D, Bermejo R, Santamaria JM. Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC) in public buses of Pamplona, Northern Spain. Science of The Total Environment 2008; 404:18-25.
Group WHO. Updating and revision of the air quality guidelines for Europe. Report on the WHO Working Group on Volatile Organic Compounds. In, EUR/ICP/EHAZ 94 05/MT12, 1996.
Greenberg MM. The central nervous system and exposure to toluene: a risk characterization. Environmental Research 1997; 72:1-7.
Kumar Padhy P, Varshney CK. Total non-methane volatile organic compounds (TNMVOC) in the atmosphere of Delhi. Atmospheric Environment 2000; 34:577-584.
Lee SC, Chiu MY, Ho KF, Zou SC, Wang X. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in urban atmosphere of Hong Kong. Chemosphere 2002; 48:375-382.
Batterman SA, Peng CY, Braun J. Levels and composition of volatile organic compounds on commuting routes in Detroit, Michigan. Atmospheric Environment 2002; 36:6015-6030.
Chan LY, Lau WL, Wang XM, Tang JH. Preliminary measurements of aromatic VOCs in public transportation modes in Guangzhou, China. Environ Int 2003; 29:429-435.
Manini P, De Palma G, Andreoli R, Poli D, Mozzoni P, Folesani G, Mutti A, Apostoli P. Environmental and biological monitoring of benzene exposure in a cohort of Italian taxi drivers. Toxicology letters 2006; 167:142.
Lau WL, Chan LY. Commuter exposure to aromatic VOCs in public transportation modes in Hong Kong. Sci Total Environ 2003; 308:143-155.
Hsu DJ, Huang HL. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter in buses on highways in Taiwan. Atmospheric Environment 2009; 43:5723-5730.
Jo W-K, Park K-H. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds in automobiles' cabins while commuting along a Korean urban area. Environment International 1998; 24:259-265.
Jo W-K, Park K-H. Commuter exposure to volatile organic compounds under different driving conditions. Atmospheric Environment 1999; 33:409-417.
Lai HK, Kendall M, Ferrier H, Lindup I, Alm S, Hanninen O, Jantunen M, Mathys P, Colvile R, Ashmore MR, Cullinan P, Nieuwenhuijsen MJ. Personal exposures and microenvironment concentrations of PM2.5, VOC, NO2 and CO in Oxford, UK. Atmospheric Environment 2004; 38:6399-6410.
Riediker M, Williams R, Devlin R, Griggs T, Bromberg P. Exposure to particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, and other air pollutants inside patrol cars. Environmental Science & Technology 2003; 37:2084-2093.
Shiohara N, Fernandez-Bremauntz AA, Blanco Jimenez S, Yanagisawa Y. The commuters' exposure to volatile chemicals and carcinogenic risk in Mexico City. Atmospheric Environment 2005; 39:3481-3489.
Schupp T, Bolt HM, Jaeckh R, Hengstler JG. Benzene and its methyl-derivatives: derivation of maximum exposure levels in automobiles. Toxicology letters 2006; 160:93-104.
Kakooei H, Kakooei AA. Measurement of PM10, PM25 and TSP Particle Concentrations in Tehran, Iran. Journal of Applied Sciences 2007; 7:3081-3085.
Kakooei H, Yunesian M, Marioryad H, Azam K. Assessment of airborne asbestos fiber concentrations in urban area of Tehran, Iran. Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health 2009; 2:39-45.
Bahrami AR. Distribution of volatile organic compounds in ambient air of Tehran. Archives of Environmental Health: An International Journal 2001; 56:380-383.
Bahrami A, AJ J, H A, H M. Comparison of benzene exposure in drivers and petrol stations workers by urinary trans, trans-muconic acid in west of Iran. Ind Health 2007 45:396-401.
Bahrami. A, Jonidi-Jafari. A, Mahjub. H. Environmental Exposure to Xylenes in Drivers and Petrol Station Workers by Urinary Methylhippuric Acid. J Res Health Sci 2008; 8:PP.61-68.
Parra MA, Elustondo D, Bermejo R, Santamaria JM. Exposure to volatile organic compounds (VOC) in public buses of Pamplona, Northern Spain Science of the Total Environment 2008; 404:18-25.
Ongwandee M, Chavalparit O. Commuter exposure to BTEX in public transportation modes in Bangkok, Thailand. Journal of Environmental Sciences 2010; 22:397-404.
OSHA: BENZENE. In Washington, DC Occupational Safety & Health Administration. [cited; Available from: http://www.osha.gov/dts/sltc/methods/organic/org012/org012.html.
Balanay JA, Lungu CT. Exposure of jeepney drivers in Manila, Philippines, to selected volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Ind Health 2009; 47:33-42.
Chan LY, Lau WL, Lee SC, Chan CY. Commuter exposure to particulate matter in public transportation modes in Hong Kong. Atmospheric Environment 2002; 36:3363-3373.
Han XL, Aguilar-Villalobos M, Allen J, Carlton CS, Robinson R, Bayer C, Naeher LP. Traffic-related occupational exposures to PM2.5, CO, and VOCs in Trujillo, Peru. International Journal of Occupational and Environmental 2005 11:276-288.
Chertok M, Voukelatos A, Sheppeard V, Rissel C. Comparison of air pollution exposure for five commuting modes in Sydney – car, train, bus, bicycle and walking. Health Promotion Journal of Australia 2004; 15:63-67.
Schupp T, Hengstler JG. A concept for maximum exposure levels in cars. EXCLI J 2004; 3:29-38.
Shareefdeen Z, Singh A. Biotechnology for odor and air pollution control. Springer, 2005.
Fedoruk M, Kerger B. Measurement of volatile organic compounds inside automobiles. Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology 2003; 13:31-41.
Jo WK, Park KH. Commuter exposure to volatile organic compounds under different driving conditions. Atmospheric Environment 1999; 33:409-417.
Mølhave L, Clausen G, Berglund B, De Ceaurriz J, Kettrup A, Lindvall T, Maroni M, Pickering AC, Risse U, Rothweiler H, Seifert B, Younes M. Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOC) in Indoor Air Quality Investigations. Indoor Air 1997; 7:225-240.
Tunca BT, Egeli U. Cytogenetic Findings on Shoe Workers Exposed Long-term to Benzene. Environmental Health Perspectives 1996; 104:1313-1317.
Hsu D-J, Huang H-L. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and particulate matter in buses on highways in Taiwan. Atmospheric Environment 2009; 43:5723-5730.
NIOSH: HYDROCARBONS, AROMATIC. In, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 2003. [cited; Available from: www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2003-154/pdfs/1501.pdf.
NIOSH: NIOSH Manual of Analytical Methods. In, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 2003. [cited; Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2003-154/pdfs/6604.pdf.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 5 No 4 (2013) | |
| Section | Original Article(s) | |
| Published | 2015-10-11 | |
| Keywords | ||
| VOCs BTEX Taxi driver Tehran Iran | ||
| Rights and permissions | |
|
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. |
