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Want to buy a car to reduce its impact on the environment? Attention, new vehicles would be potentially dangerous for the health of the drivers, because of the interior pollution, released by the materials which compose them.
Cars are a major source of air pollution, but did you know they also expose drivers to indoor pollution? And new vehicles would be more affected, according to a Chinese and American study.
Indoor pollution update
In this study, scientists collected air samples from a new mid-size SUV plug-in hybrid electric vehicle parked outdoors for 12 days from July 21 to August 1, 2022. The main materials that make it up inside are plastic, leatherette and woven fabric or felt.
To analyze this sample, they used two techniques: gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy, making it possible to reveal the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by the materials of the vehicle, just leaving the production line.
More than twenty chemical elements identified
According to the results of these two analyses, more than twenty chemical elements have been identified by the researchers. They cleared, they say, at different times of the day, due to the sun warming the vehicle. For example, formaldehyde has been found at concentrations exceeding national safety standards by 35% in China. Benzene or acetaldehyde, which are carcinogens, were also measured at concentrations above safety standards of 61%.
An increased risk of cancer
“Formaldehyde and benzene are identified as class I carcinogens while acetaldehyde, ethylbenzene and styrene are identified as probable class II carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)” recall the researchers who specify that these compounds are typical VOCs found in the passenger compartment of a vehicle.
The aim of this study is therefore to warn of the increased risk of cancer for people who use a new vehicle, whether continuously or not.