Exposure assessment of vehicle exhaust pollution in Wuhan, Hubei.

Objective To investigate the exposure level to vehicle exhaust pollution for population by different commuting modes in roadside environment in Wuhan. Methods Eight air monitoring sites were selected in the six main roads in urban area of Wuhan, Hubei province. The concentrations of NO2, CO, total hydro carbon (THC), PM10, benzene, toluene and xylenes (BTX) emitted from the vehicles were monitored and analyzed in winter and summer of 2007, respectively and combined with breathing rate and time spent of the population in traffic environments, exposure doses of different subpopulation were calculated as indicators in order to evaluate their exposure level to traffic exhaust. Results The PM10 was the primary pollutant on the roadside. Compared with the Ambient Air Quality Standard, the rate of exceeding standard limit for PM10 was 8% in summer and 100% in winter. As for on the roadside, the exposure level for adults was higher than that for the children (P0.05). For adults, there was highest exposure dose for the adult commuting by bicycle (P0.05). For children, there was no significant difference between the groups commuting by bicycle and by car. The exposure dose was the lowest for the group commuting on foot (P0.05). Conclusion In roadside environment of Wuhan, the exposure level of adults to vehicular pollution is higher than that of children. The exposure level to vehicular pollution is the highest for the group commuting by bicycle, and the lowest for the group commuting on foot.