Monitoring and assessment of exhaust emission in Bangkok street air

Measurement of the exhaust emission from gasoline-powered motor vehicles in Bangkok were performed on chassis dynamometer. A fleet of 10 vehicles of different model, years and manufacturers were selected to measure the air pollutants in the exhaust effluent. The study revealed that the carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions averaged 32.3-64.2 and 1.82-2.98 g km(-1), respectively, for 1990-1992 cars and decreased to 17.8-40.71 and 0.75-1.88 g km(-1), respectively, for 1994-1995 cars. A monitoring program for air pollutant concentrations in ambient air was also conducted to evaluate the air pollution problems in Bangkok arising from vehicle exhaust emission. Four air sampling stations were strategically established to cover the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR). Composite air samples in this study area were collected during the day/night times and weekday/weekend. The average concentrations of suspended particulate matter, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide in Bangkok street air were found to be 0.65 mg/m(3) (24 hr ave.), 19.02 mg/m(3) (8 hr ave.) and 0.021 mg/m(3) (1 hr ave.), respectively. The average concentrations of benzene and toluene in the ambient air of the study area were found to be 15.07-50.20 and 25.76-130.95 mu g/m(3), respectively, for 8 hr average. These results indicated that there was a significant increase in air pollutant emissions with increasing car mileage and model year. Subsequent analysis of data showed that there were only 20% of the test vehicles complied to approved emission standard. The finding also revealed that there was a correlation between the average air pollutant concentrations with average traffic speed in each traffic zone of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region (BMR).