Your car may be polluted from inside
If you thought driving a car on a heavily polluted road may be safe, think twice. According to a new study, car cabins contain extremely high levels of some harmful particulate matter, twice the amount previously thought.
The findings showed the pollution inside the cars contained twice the amount of chemicals that cause oxidative stress, thought to be involved in the development of many diseases including respiratory and heart disease, cancer and some types of neuro-degenerative diseases.
“We found that people are likely getting a double whammy of exposure in terms of health during rush-hour commutes,” said Michael Bergin, professor at the Duke University in North Carolina.
The pollutants can cause the body to produce chemicals to deal with the reactive oxygen, while particulate matter also causes the same response. In combination, the exposure triggers an overreaction that can be destructive to healthy cells and DNA, the researchers said, in the paper published in the journal Atmospheric Environment.