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Study Reveals a Quarter of Cars Produce 90% of Traffic Pollution

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Milan Eases Traffic Flow

Photo: ALAMY via The Telegraph

It turns out that when it comes to reducing a car’s pollution, newer is better. A study conducted by researchers at the University of Toronto found that about 25% of cars on the road today produce roughly 90% of total traffic-related air pollution.

The researchers used air-sampling probes to measure the exhaust of 100,000 cars, and found that about a quarter of the cars they measured produced over 76% of certain pollutants including benzene, toluene, and other carcinogenic materials.

What is the cause of this? According to Jonathan Wang, one of the authors of the study, “We found it was a large amount of transport trucks, but a good proportion was just cars – a mixture of both. We suspect they were older vehicles.”

The reasoning is fairly easy – newer cars are more fuel-efficient, so they use less gas and put out less exhaust.

There are a few other things you can do to reduce your exhaust output, though. If you want to keep your car green, don’t stomp on the gas – gentler acceleration and braking create fewer pollutants. Also, remember to get your car serviced regularly, with regular oil changes and air filter replacements.

New Source: NBC News