title: Operational and environmental determinants of in-vehicle CO and PM2.5 exposure.
abstract: This study presents a modeling framework to quantify the complex roles that traffic, seasonality, vehicle characteristics, ventilation, meteorology, and ambient air quality play in dictating in-vehicle commuter exposure to CO and PM2.5. For this purpose, a comprehensive one-year monitoring program of 25 different variables was coupled with a multivariate regression analysis to develop models to predict in-vehicle CO and PM2.5 exposure using a database of 119 mobile tests and 120 fume leakage tests. The study aims to improve the understanding of in-cabin exposure, as well as interior-exterior pollutant exchange. Model results highlighted the strong correlation between out-vehicle and in-vehicle concentrations, with the effect of ventilation type only discerned for PM2.5 levels. Car type, road conditions, as well as meteorological conditions all played a significant role in modulating in-vehicle exposure. The CO and PM2.5 exposure models were able to explain 72 and 92% of the variability in measured concentrations, respectively. Both models exhibited robustness and no-evidence of over-fitting.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Alameddine
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, Lebanon.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Abi Esber
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Princeton University, United States.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bou Zeid
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil Engineering, University of Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hatzopoulou
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, American University of Beirut, Lebanon. Electronic address: mfadel@aub.edu.lb.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: El-Fadel
mesh_terms: D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D002248:Carbon Monoxide / Q000032:analysis*; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D008956:Models, Chemical; D015233:Models, Statistical; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000032:analysis*; D001335:Vehicle Emissions / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D000393:Air Pollutants; D052638:Particulate Matter; D001335:Vehicle Emissions; D002248:Carbon Monoxide
keywords: CO; In-vehicle exposure; Multivariate analysis; PM(2.5)