Impact of Regulations of Traffic Emissions on  PAH Level in the Air

Foreword

In the period 1992-1994 The Danish Environmental Protection Agency supported a project that evaluated the contribution of traffic to the emissions of PAH and mutagens in cities, the PAH-levels in Denmark and evaluation of the health aspects of PAH and other mutagens. It was concluded, that motor vehicles were main sources to PAH-pollution in streets in Copenhagen, and that 2/3 of the PAH-emission originated from diesel driven motor vehicles.

The measurements indicated significantly lower levels of PAH and mutagens in 1993 as compared to 1992. One theory put forward was that this improvement could be related to a concomitant change in the quality of diesel used in buses. The main objective of this project has been to complement the previous observations with additional data in order to proof or disproof the theory.

The results from the project will contribute to the ongoing discussions about the need for a further improvement of the diesel quality in cities.

The report has been presented for a group of experts with the following members:

DEPA:
Erik Iversen (chairman)

NERI:
Finn Palmgren

IFT:
John Chr. Larsen

DTU:
Jesper Schramm

All the authors were participating in the meeting with the expert group.