" T HE exhaust gases from a petroldriven vehicle are potentially
Page 44
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
more dangerous to health than those of a Diesel-powered vehicle." This statement is made in a report on tests into the effects of petrol and oil-fuel exhaust fumes carried out under the auspices of Messrs. Bostock, Hill and Rigby, analytical and consulting chemists, with t h e co-operation of Birmingham Co-operative Society, Ltd.
The tests made were to determine the effects of fumes for different periods of time within two delivery vans under normal conditions and conditions of maximum possible contamination. One van had a petrol engine and the other a Perkins P4(V) unit. Similar specimens of foodstuffs were used in each vehicle, consisting of bread, flour, tinned meat, sweets, biscuits, fresh meat, cakes and pastries with synthetic cream, bacon and milk.
In tests under normal conditions, the air in each van was examined every 45 min. throughout a 3-hour delivery round. At the end of this period the exhaust gases were pumped into the closed interiors to subject the foods to maximum possible contamination for 45 min.
In the first instance, carbon monoxide
was found to be absent in both vans, but after three hours the proportion of suspended solids in the oiler was 0.08 parts per million, compared with 0.12 in the petrol vehicle. There was no oil in suspension in either vehicle.
Maximum contamination tcsts revealed no carbon monoxide in the oiler, but an incidence of one part in 1,000 in the petrol van. Suspended solids amounted to 0.24 parts per million in the oiler and 0.32 in the other vehicle. Again there was no oil in suspension in either vehicle.
Food smelled and tasted in prime condition after the normal-running test, but after the other trial it was found that the foods smelled objectionably, although there was no difference in taint between the loads of either vehicle. "The maximum-contamination tests showed parallel effects upon the foodstuffs in each van, and no effect at all upon tinned or bottled goods," states the report.
F. Perkins, Ltd„ Peterborough, have made tests to find the comparative carbon-monoxide content in petrol and oil-fuel exhaust. They found none in the exhaust of an L4 unit but up to 3.5 per cent. in that from a petrol engine.