Exposure to Carbon Monoxide CH7, In: Exposure Analysis
Author:
Peter G. Flachsbart, Editors: Wayne R. Ott, Anne C. Steinemann, and Lance A. Wallace
Date Published:
2007
Description:
Incomplete combustion of carbonaceous fuels (i.e., fuels with carbon atoms) can produce significant quantities of carbon monoxide (CO). Exposure to CO occurs during a variety of daily activities such as traveling by motor vehicle in traffic or cooking food over an unvented gas range. Fortunately, reducing CO exposures has been one of the “... greatest success stories in air-pollution control,” according to a report published by the National Research Council in 2003. Much of that success is due to the adoption in 1968 of nationwide emission controls on new cars, and to promulgation in 1970 of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for CO and several other “criteria” air pollutants. In spite of that success, many people die or suffer the ill effects of high CO exposure every year. In fact, CO is the only regulated air pollutant that appears on death certificates. Accordingly, this chapter first summarizes the principal sources and health effects of CO. It then describes key studies of CO exposure over the last 40 years to show how the goals and methods of these studies have evolved over time. Studies of CO exposure in the 1960s and 1970s essentially pioneered the field of exposure analysis. The earliest studies found that CO concentrations on congested roadways and busy intersections in downtown areas typically exceeded ambient CO levels measured at fixed-site monitors. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) relies on these monitors to determine compliance with the NAAQS. The chapter reveals typical concentrations of CO that people encounter in their daily lives and identifies factors that affect or contribute to CO exposures as a person performs his or her daily activities. The chapter shows how policies and programs of the Clean Air Act have affected trends in CO exposure over time. The chapter concludes that CO exposure studies are essential for identifying health risks to human populations, for setting and reviewing air quality standards, and for evaluating emission control policies and programs. The chapter recommends that studies of CO exposure are particularly applicable to developing countries that have rapidly growing motor vehicle populations, congested streets and confined spaces in urban areas, and nascent motor vehicle emission control programs.
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