Type of vehicle impacts air pollution near busy roads: new study

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – If you live near a busy road, you could be breathing in a whole soup of pollutants. A new study finds traffic volume isn’t to blame — rather, it’s the type of traffic.

Unsurprisingly, diesel trucks produce a lot of emissions. And while some are retrofitted with emission treatment systems, that’s not always the case.

Researchers from the Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research at the University of Toronto found a third of Canadians live near busy roads — the highest numbers in Toronto and Vancouver. That potentially exposes them to traffic emissions.

Those conducting the study set up monitoring stations over two years and found emissions were the worst during the morning rush and that weather makes a difference too — there were actually higher concentrations of nitrogen oxides in the winter.

They also found heavy truck traffic produced pollutant concentrations that were similar to those beside the busiest stretch of highway in North America, despite having much less car traffic.

One of the lead professors on the study wants to see monitoring stations set up across the country to get a better idea of the impact of our transportation choices.