堵車時 如何減少車內污染

The average American commuter spent 50hours in traffic last year.

去年，美國通勤者在路上等待的時間平均爲50小時。

As a nation, we spent eight billion hourssitting in our cars, waiting for lights to change, for the driver ahead tosneak into that parking spot, for an accident to be cleared.

全體美國人總共花了80億小時坐在車裏，等待紅燈變綠燈，等待前車司機駛入停車位，等待交通事故被處理。

That’s not much more timethan many Europeans spend in cars.

這並不比許多歐洲人等在車裏的時間多出多少。

According to Inrix, a roadway and trafficanalytics company, drivers and passengers in Belgium spent 44 hours in trafficlast year; in Germany, 39 hours.

交通路況分析公司Inrix稱，比利時的司機和乘客去年等在路上的平均時間爲44小時；德國人爲39小時。

Wherever it happens, new research suggeststhat all that sitting and waiting is exposing us to more pollutants than we’d take in ifwere we cruising along.

新研究顯示，不論在什麼地方，比起一路暢行無阻，坐在車裏等待會讓我們暴露於更多污染物之下。

According to a study published Thursday inEnvironmental Science: Processes & Impacts, pollution levels inside cars atred lights or in traffic jams are up to 40 percent higher than when traffic ismoving.

根據上週四發表在《環境科學：過程與影響》(Processes & Impacts)上的一項研究，等紅燈或者堵在路上之際，車內污染物的含量比交通順暢時高出40%。

Air quality is already a problem outside ofcars: More than 80 percent of people living in cities where pollution istracked are exposed to air quality levels below World Health Organizationlimits.

車外的空氣質量已經成問題了：污染水平受到追蹤的那些城市的居民，超過80%暴露在質量未達世界衛生組織（World Health Organization，簡稱WHO）所設限值的大氣中。

The W.H.O. has estimated that poor air quality isresponsible for the deaths of 3.7 million people younger than 60 in 2012.

據WHO估計，2012年，糟糕的空氣質量是導致370萬不滿60歲的人死亡的原因。

Researchers at the University of Surrey inEngland took to the streets of Guildford, a typical English town, to look atthe effects of traffic on concentrations of polluting particles.

英國薩里大學(University of Surrey)的研究人員走上典型英式城鎮吉爾福德的街頭，研究交通堵塞對顆粒污染物濃度的影響。

They also analyzed how ventilation settingschanged those concentrations inside of cars.

他們還分析了通風設置會如何改變車內污染濃度。

The scientists took their measurementsinside a car as it traveled on a six-kilometer loop, passing through 10 trafficintersections.

這些科學家讓車輛沿一條六公里長的環路行駛，途經10個交通路口，同時在車內進行測量。

They tracked the concentrations ofdifferent-size particles of air pollution —ranging from courseto fine —at each intersection.

他們在每一個路口追蹤了從粗到細不同尺寸的顆粒污染物的濃度。

In a car stuck in traffic, shutting all thewindows and turning off the fan or heat reduced concentration doses of thesmallest, most hazardous particles by up to 76 percent.

塞車時，關閉所有車窗、關掉風扇或暖氣，會讓車內危害性最強的最小顆粒物的濃度降低至多76%。

The researchers also found an increase insmaller particles inside the vehicle compared with larger ones when the heatwas off and fans were on full blast, drawing in air from outside.

研究人員還發現，當關閉暖氣並把風扇開到最大檔來吸入外部空氣的時候，車內較小顆粒物的濃度與較大顆粒物相比有所增加。

Those findings suggest that the ventilationsystem was more effective at filtering out larger particles than smaller oneswhile stopped at intersections, reducing the concentration doses of thoseparticles up to 68 percent, they said.

他們說，這些結果表明，車輛停在路口之際，通風系統能夠更有效地過濾較大顆粒物而非較小顆粒物，讓前者的濃度下降至多68%。

And while they were only at trafficintersections for about 7 percent of total commuting time on average, the timeaccounted for as much as 10 percent of their exposure to harmful particles.

儘管在路口停留的時間平均只佔總通勤時間的大約7%，但研究人員在這段時間裏接觸到的有害顆粒物，卻相當於總接觸量的10%。

The exposure was more than six timesgreater in cars with open windows than for pedestrians at three- or four-wayintersections.

在丁字路口或十字路，在窗戶打開的車裏接觸到的有害顆粒物濃度比行人高六倍多。

So when you’re stopped at anintersection, roll up the windows, and breathe easier.

因此，停在路口時，請把窗戶關上，呼吸也要更輕一點。