Almost one-third of Canadians live near a major roadway – and this means they go about their everyday lives exposed to a complex mixture of vehicle air pollutants.
Almost one-third of Canadians live near a major roadway – and this means they go about their everyday lives exposed to a complex mixture of vehicle air pollutants.
A new national study led by researchers at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering reveals that emissions from nearby traffic can greatly increase concentrations of key air pollutants, with trucks making a major contribution. Canada’s cold winters can also increase emissions while particle emissions from brakes and tires are on the rise.
The report, released today, is the culmination of a two-year study monitoring traffic emissions in Toronto and Vancouver – the two Canadian cities with the highest percentage of residents living near major roads.
“There’s a whole soup of pollutants within traffic emissions,” says Greg Evans, a professor in the department of chemical engineering and applied chemistry who led the study in collaboration with Environment and Climate Change Canada, Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks, and Metro Vancouver.
Continue reading at University of Toronto.
Image via Steve Russell/Toronto Star via Getty Images.
