Car Pollution - A Basic Introduction to Car Exhaust Fumes

M1CCAP take a general look at the effects of car exhaust fumes and car pollution on the environment and what can be done to avoid it.

Car Pollution - some simple facts:

• Driving a car is the most polluting act the average UK citizen commits.
• In most cities car pollution is the biggest source of air pollution.
• Car pollution contributes to smog, acid rain, and global warming.
• Cars are getting bigger and heavy goods vehicles are replacing smaller ones. The average new vehicle in 2001 consumed more fuel that its counterpart in 1988.
• Owners of fuel guzzling cars, beware - your car's emissions may one day be scanned when you least expect it. NASA in the US has announced that a device designed to study greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere will be used by a private company to make auto-emissions detectors that work along the side of a road.
• Dedicated bus lanes and priority given to cars and vehicles with 3 or more passengers would cut car pollution drastically.
• Traffic can be better scheduled with companies placing emphasis on increasing commercial traffic at night. Large companies can stagger working hours and decentralise administrative operations.
• Combustion engines contribute to carbon dioxide accumulation in the atmosphere and are responsible for climate changes.
• The adverse health effects of car pollution are pervasive and difficult to measure.
• A short list of the likely pathogens in car exhaust: Carbon monoxide
  Nitrogen dioxide
  Sulphur dioxide
  Nitrogen monoxide
  Benzene
  Formaldehyde
  Polycyclic hydrocarbons

M1 Corridor Clean Air Partnership
c/o Environmental Protection Service
Sheffield City Council
2-10 Carbrook Hall Road
Sheffield
S9 2DB

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