Carbon monoxide exposure from motor vehicles in United Arab Emirates

Abstract

The aim of this study was to measure the carbon monoxide emission from motor vehicle exhaust in United Arab Emirates (UAE). This survey was conducted during September and December 1995 and performed on 148 cars selected. randomly from three locations A specifically designed questionnaire was used to collect information on the model of the car, year of manufacture, size of the car; type of fuel used, information on maintenance schedule and car usage each day in terms of mileage. Drager tubes were used to estimate the amount of carbon monoxide, butane, propane and water vapor released by the car. 69.5% of the cars were Japanese, 74.3% of the cars were 1-5 years old. 81% of the car were small size car 85.8% used special fuel and 51.4% had regular maintenance for their cars. Furthermore, 52% of the car had four cylinder engine capacity, 26.4% had eight cylinder, 13.5% 6 cylinder and 8.1% had 12 cylinder size engine. Furthermore, 52% of the car had 4 cylinder engine capacity, 26.4% 8 cylinder, 13.5% 6 cylinder and 8.1% had 12 cylinder size engine. The results of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed that the age or model of car (p<0.01); size of car (p<0.0001); number of cylinder in car (p<0.0001); type of fuel used (p<0.027 had statistically significant influence on the amount and concentration of carbon monoxide. But car service or maintenance did not show any significant effect (p=0.258) In conclusion, carbon monoxide exposure from motor vehicle exhaust seems as a major source of pollution in Al-Ain, UAE. No cars are manufactured in UAE and no regulations as regards to the emission on imported cars are being enforced at the moment. This survey will lead to setup emission standards and to recommend some criteria for prevention of undesired motor vehicle pollution episodes.