Morphology and composition of particles emitted from a port fuel injection gasoline vehicle under real-world driving test cycles

Traffic vehicles, many of which are powered by port fuel injection (PFI) engines, are major sources of particulate matter in the urban atmosphere. We studied particles from the emission of a commercial PFI-engine vehicle when it was running under the states of cold start, hot start, hot stabilized running, idle and acceleration, using a transmission electron microscope and an energy-dispersive X-ray detector. Results showed that the particles were mainly composed of organic, soot, and Ca-rich particles, with a small amount of S-rich and metal-containing particles, and displayed a unimodal size distribution with the peak at 600?nm. The emissions were highest under the cold start running state, followed by the hot start, hot stabilized, acceleration, and idle running states. Organic particles under the hot start and hot stabilized running states were higher than those of other running states. Soot particles were highest under the cold start running state. Under the idle running state, the relative number fraction of Ca-rich particles was high although their absolute number was low. These results indicate that PFI-engine vehicles emit substantial primary particles, which favor the formation of secondary aerosols via providing reaction sites and reaction catalysts, as well as supplying soot, organic, mineral and metal particles in the size range of the accumulation mode. In addition, the contents of Ca, P, and Zn in organic particles may serve as fingerprints for source apportionment of particles from PFI-engine vehicles.     

Effect on fatality risk of changing from secondary to primary seat belt enforcement

BACKGROUND: Most seat belt use laws originally passed in the United States contained language restricting enforcement to drivers already stopped for some other reason. States that have since removed this secondary enforcement restriction have reported increased seat belt use. The purpose of the present study was to estimate the effect of these law changes on driver fatality rates. METHOD: Trends in passenger vehicle driver death rates per billion miles traveled were compared for 10 states that changed from secondary to primary seat belt enforcement and 14 states that remained with secondary enforcement. RESULTS: After accounting for possible economic effects and other general time trends, the change from secondary to primary enforcement was found to reduce annual passenger vehicle driver death rates by an estimated 7% (95% confidence limits 3.0-10.9). CONCLUSION: The majority of U.S. states still have secondary enforcement laws. If these remaining secondary laws were amended, an estimated 696 deaths per year could be prevented.     

Investigating the effect of geometric dimensions of median traffic barriers on crashes: Crash analysis of interstate roads in Wyoming using actual crash datasets

IntroductionDespite the numerous safety studies done on traffic barriers’ performance assessment, the effect of variables such as traffic barrier’s height has not been identified considering a comprehensive actual crash data analysis. This study seeks to identify the impact of geometric variables (i.e., height, post-spacing, sideslope ratio, and lateral offset) on median traffic barriers’ performance in crashes on interstate roads.MethodGeometric dimensions of over 110 miles median traffic barriers on interstate Wyoming roads were inventoried in a field survey between 2016 and 2018. Then, the traffic barrier data collected was combined with historical crash records, traffic volume data, road geometric characteristics, and weather condition data to provide a comprehensive dataset for the analysis. Finally, an ordered logit model with random-parameters was developed for the severity of traffic barrier crashes. Based on the results, traffic barrier’s height was found to impact crash severity.ResultsCrashes involving cable barriers with a height between 30″ and 42″ were less severe than other traffic barrier types, while concrete barriers with a height shorter than 32″ were more likely involved with severe injury crashes. As another important finding, the post-spacing of 6.1–6.3 ft. was identified as the least severe range in W-beam barriers.Practical applicationsThe results show that using flare barriers should reduce the number of crashes compared to parallel barriers.     

Carbon monoxide levels at a toll plaza near Durban, South Africa

Reliable measurements of pollutant levels in the vicinity of a toll plaza appear to be rare. In order to assess the exposure of toll booth operators to carbon monoxide, a continuous carbon monoxide monitor was installed at head height in the booth of a medium density traffic lane at the Mariannhill toll plaza, situated on a busy highway near Durban, South Africa. Measurements in excess of 500 ppmv were recorded and the high daily mean carbon monoxide concentrations may account for some of the symptoms such as headaches and general malaise that have been reported by workers in the booths. Generally, carbon monoxide levels recorded far exceed the recommended limit set by the South African authorities. These results have led to recommendations regarding the structure of new and existing toll booths to minimize the exposure of toll booth workers to adverse effects of vehicle-emitted pollutants.     

Traffic congestion and ozone precursor emissions in Bilbao (Spain)

GOAL. SCOPE. BACKGROUND: In urban environments, the measured levels of ozone are the result of the interaction between emissions of precursors (mainly VOCs and NOx) and meteorological effects. In this work, time series of daily values of ozone, measured at three locations in Bilbao (Spain), have been built. Then, after removing meteorological effects from them, ozone and traffic data have been analyzed jointly. The goal was to identify traffic situations and link them to ozone levels in the area of Bilbao. METHODS: To remove meteorological effects from the selected ozone time series, the technique developed by Rao and Zurbenko was used. This is a widely used technique and, after its application, the fraction obtained from a given ozone time series represents an ozone forming capability attributable to emissions of precursors. This fraction is devoid of any meteorological influence and includes only the apportion of periodicities above 1.7 years. In the case of Bilbao, the ozone fractions obtained at three locations have been compared on that time scale with traffic data from the area. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: For the 1993-1996 period, a regression analysis of the ozone and traffic fractions due to periodicities above 1.7 years (long-term fractions), shows that traffic is the main explanatory factor for ozone with R2 ranging from 0.916 to 0.996 at the three locations studied. Analysis of these longterm fractions has made it possible to identify two traffic regimes for the whole area, associated to different profiles of ozone forming capability. The first one favors low ozone forming capability, and is associated with a situation of fluent traffic. The second one shows high ozone forming capability and represents congestion. Joint analysis of raw data of ozone and traffic do not show any clear pattern due to the strong masking effects that seasonal-meteorological effects (mainly radiation) have on the measured ozone signal. If only immission data of ozone are available, as in this case, a comparison between ozone and traffic can only be made on the long-term time scale, since that is the only fraction embedded in the ozone time series that can exclusively be attributed to emissions of precursors. This fact stresses the need to study the different fractions embedded in the time series of ozone measured levels separately. CONCLUSION: Though the coefficients obtained in the regression are only valid for the 1993-1996 period, these traffic regimes represent long-term targets (congestion or fluent traffic) that can inspire policies for a joint management of the traffic and pollution by ozone in the area of Bilbao beyond that period. RECOMMENDATIONS AND OUTLOOK: The results of this work show the need of a joint management of ozone and traffic in Bilbao. Since an accurate knowledge of traffic was not available, the use of emission factors to relate traffic and actual ozone levels has not been possible. For this reason, this study has focused on the long-term fractions of traffic and ozone. In the future, if a more accurate knowledge of traffic is available, it will be possible to find relationships between traffic and ozone on all time scales.     

道路交通中苯并(a)芘的高效液相色谱快速测定

用超细玻璃纤维滤膜采集杭州市某道路上机动车排放的苯并（ａ）芘,经超声萃取,高速离心后直接进ＨＰＬＣ分析。在选定的色谱条件下,苯并（ａ）芘与其他多环芳烃完全分离,绝对进样量在０．８～０．０２ ｎｇ时线性良好,相关系数为０．９９９７９,最小检出量０．８ ｐｇ,加标回收率８７．５％～９３．８％。     

Effect of enhanced seat belt reminders on driver fatality risk

Objective

Enhanced seat belt reminders in automobiles have been shown to increase belt use rates by approximately 3 percentage points. The objective of this study was to estimate the effect of enhanced seat belt reminders on driver fatality risk.

Method

Data included all passenger vehicle driver deaths and vehicle registration counts in the United States for calendar years 2000-2007. Driver fatality rates per vehicle registration per year were compared for otherwise identical vehicle models with and without enhanced seat belt reminders.

Results

Driver fatality rates were 6% lower for vehicles with enhanced seat belt reminders compared with vehicles without enhanced belt reminders. After adjusting for vehicle age differences, the estimated effect of enhanced belt reminders on driver fatality risk ranged from a 9% reduction for General Motors vehicles to a 2% increase for Honda vehicles. Combining all manufacturers, enhanced belt reminders reduced fatality risk by approximately 2%. Although not statistically significant, the 2% reduction in fatality risk agrees with what should be expected from a 3 percentage point increase in seat belt use rates.

Conclusions

Enhanced seat belt reminders have raised driver belt use rates and reduced fatality rates, but more aggressive systems may be needed for some drivers. It can be inferred that nonfatal injury rates also have been reduced.

Impact on Industry

Manufacturers should be encouraged to put enhanced seat belt reminders on all vehicles as soon as possible.     

典型全氟辛烷磺酸盐(PFOS)替代品对土壤跳虫的生态毒性

利用土壤模式动物白符跳(Folsomia candida),评价4种PFOS替代产品,包括50%的全氟丁基有机铵盐阳离子表面活性剂(简称表面活性剂)、用调聚法合成的三防织物整理剂(含固率23.7%,简称织物三防整理剂)、用电解氟化法合成的C4织物及C6织物三防整理剂的生态毒性,目的是为筛选安全高效的PFOS替代品提供科学依据。研究表明,表面活性剂与三防织物整理剂对跳虫急性毒性的LC50(7d)分别为4959和1007mg·kg-1,而C4与C6整理剂对跳虫急性毒性的LC50(7d)均大于5000mg·kg-1;表面活性剂、织物三防整理剂与C4整理剂对跳虫慢性毒性的EC50(28d)分别为0.15、0.12和0.18mg·kg-1,而C6织物三防整理剂对跳虫慢性毒性的EC50(28d)大于1mg·kg-1;4种替代品生态毒性顺序为织物三防整理剂>表面活性剂>C4>C6织物三防整理剂。通过与本实验室PFOS生态毒性的研究结果比较发现,除织物三防整理剂,其余3种替代品对跳虫的生态毒性作用均小于PFOS,其中C6整理剂对跳虫的毒性最小,有望成为替代PFOS的环保型织物整理剂。