EPA warns against excess car emissions in garages

Facing cold weather, some drivers let their car engine run for a few minutes before driving away, a practice that is harmful to air quality, a recent study by Taiwan’s Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) showed. Using a device called a Proton Transfer Reaction Mass (PTR-MS) to monitor air quality in an underground parking lot between the peak hours of 8am and 8:20am and 5pm and 5:20pm, the EPA said comparisons of benzene and acrolein densities in the air between peak and off-peak hours showed the average density of the two pollutants was 3.9 times and 3.8 times higher in the afternoon peak hours, and 1.6 times and 2.5 times higher in the morning peak hours than during off-peak. Long-term exposure to benzene can lead to leukemia, while acrolein can damage lungs and increase the risk of cancer. (February 16, 2011)