A toxic cocktail of ultrafine particles, which is lurking inside road tunnels, can increase air pollution levels by up to 1,000 times, enough to harm drivers and passengers, a new study has said.
The study measured ultrafine particle concentration levels outside a vehicle travelling through the M5 East tunnel in Sydney.
Drug Toxicity
Drug toxicity is an adverse reaction of the body towards a drug that results as a side effect of a drug, reaction to a drug or drug abuse.
Advertisement
According to study co-author and director of Queensland University of Technology's International Laboratory for Air Quality and Health, Professor Lidia Morawska, road tunnels were locations where maximum exposure to dangerous ultrafine particles in addition to other pollutants occurred.
"The human health effects of exposure to ultrafine particles produced by fuel combustion are generally regarded as detrimental," Professor Morawska said.
![Alcoholic Liver Disease]( "Alcoholic Liver Disease")
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general information about Alcoholic Liver Disease.
"Effects can range from minor respiratory problems in healthy people, to acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) in people with existing heart complaints," she added.
Professor Morawska said the study involved more than 300 trips through the four kilometres of the M5 East tunnel, with journeys lasting up to 26 minutes, depending on traffic congestion.
"What this study aimed to do was identify the concentration levels found in the tunnel. It generated a huge body of data on the concentrations and the results show that, at times, the levels are up to 1000 times higher than in urban ambient conditions," she said.
She said that drivers and occupants of new vehicles which had their windows closed were safer than people travelling in older vehicles.
"People who are driving older vehicles which are inferior in terms of tightness and also those riding motorcycles or driving convertibles, these people are exposed to incredibly high concentrations," she said.
"When compared with similar studies reported previously, the measurements here were among the highest recorded concentrations," she added.
Professor Morawska said that tunnels were becoming an increasingly necessary infrastructure component in many cities across the world.
"When governments are building tunnels for urban design reasons, they should also consider the impact these tunnels are having on the environment and to people's health," she said.
"The study highlights why governments need to consider how they are going to deal with the air pollution levels inside the tunnel and removal of ultrafine particles in the outside environment," she added.
Source: ANI
RAS
Alcoholic Liver Disease
Encyclopedia section of medindia gives general information about Alcoholic Liver Disease.
Advertisement
"Effects can range from minor respiratory problems in healthy people, to acute myocardial infarction (heart attack) in people with existing heart complaints," she added.
Professor Morawska said the study involved more than 300 trips through the four kilometres of the M5 East tunnel, with journeys lasting up to 26 minutes, depending on traffic congestion.
"What this study aimed to do was identify the concentration levels found in the tunnel. It generated a huge body of data on the concentrations and the results show that, at times, the levels are up to 1000 times higher than in urban ambient conditions," she said.
She said that drivers and occupants of new vehicles which had their windows closed were safer than people travelling in older vehicles.
"People who are driving older vehicles which are inferior in terms of tightness and also those riding motorcycles or driving convertibles, these people are exposed to incredibly high concentrations," she said.
"When compared with similar studies reported previously, the measurements here were among the highest recorded concentrations," she added.
Professor Morawska said that tunnels were becoming an increasingly necessary infrastructure component in many cities across the world.
"When governments are building tunnels for urban design reasons, they should also consider the impact these tunnels are having on the environment and to people's health," she said.
"The study highlights why governments need to consider how they are going to deal with the air pollution levels inside the tunnel and removal of ultrafine particles in the outside environment," she added.
Source: ANI
RAS
Chemotherapy Drugs
Chemotherapy drugs perform like 'magic bullets' to destroy cancer cells in the body.
Advertisement
Chemotherapy''Chemo'' means medicine or ''drug'', ''therapy'' means ''treatment''. Chemotherapy refers to the use of cytotoxic drugs in the treatment of cancer. | Advertisement
|
Advertisement
Recommended Reading
Latest Environmental Health
Air pollution is a major global threat. Scientists have developed a new device to measure the air quality.
Trichloroethylene (TCE), a common dry cleaning chemical is more likely to increase Parkinson's disease risk.
Adopting strict measures against flu, COVID-19, plague, rabies and respiratory tract infections can help eliminate the threats of epidemics in Turkey's earthquake zone.
Watch out: Tiny environmental plastic particles in mother's food can reach the growing fetus in the womb.
Do mosquitoes prefer tasty blood? Yes, attractive odors in human skin could be the reason why mosquitoes bite some people more than others.