The assessments of air pollution exposure risks and health effects for commuters in various transportations

The air pollution exposure of commuters was evaluated using different types of transportation vehicles, including Taipei mass rapid transit (MRT), city bus, automobile, and four-stroke motorbike. The health benefits of each type of commuting vehicles were also evaluated. CO2 and NO2 were two major air pollutants that the four types of commuters in Taipei City were exposed to. Evaluation of cancer risks showed that motorbike vehicles were at the highest cancer risk due to their direct exposures to HCHO and benzene generated by moving vehicles. Through evaluation and comparison of the health benefits of the four commuting vehicles, MRT trains had the lowest levels of nearly all air pollutants and also required the shortest travel time. Hence, MRT commuters were exposed to the smallest health threat. Because motorbike riders were directly exposed to air pollutants in the air, they suffered from the highest concentrations of air pollutants and were exposed to the largest health threat. In terms of the benefits of switching commuting vehicles, after a portion of automobile and motorbike commuters switched to take MRT, the average life expectancy of all residents in Taipei could be increased by 57,748,592 person-day and their total expenditure can also be reduced by $20,187/yr. This is an abstract of a paper presented at the 103rd AWMA Annual Conference and Exhibition (Calgary, Alberta, Canada 6/22-25/2010).