Catalytic converters… not that clean!
An experiment carried out by researchers from INRA Nancy highlighted a new form of pollution by catalytic converters.
The catalytic converters that equip our vehicles are believed to be causing new pollution. This is what emerges from a study conducted by three scientists from INRA Nancy.
Three researchers from an animal science laboratory carrying out research on the pollution of road traffic in agricultural areas. Their experience? They placed at different distances from a road, frequented by 7 vehicles per day, pots of herbs grown in the greenhouse to assess, after a month, their rate of contamination by three metals: palladium, platinum and rhodium.
Plague and cholera
"We knew the toxicity of smoke, aromatic hydrocarbons, for a long time, hence the commissioning of catalytic converters to limit them, but we did not know at all that of these three metals which are rejected by them", explains the Dr Eric Lichtfouse, from INRA Dijon, also editor-in-chief of the journal Agronomie pour le développement durable (1). “These scientists then studied the effects of palladium and platinum after feeding it to a goat. The observation: metals would be found in the tissues, the animal's liver, but also ... its milk!
"Hasn't the plague been replaced by cholera?" Wonders Dr. Eric Lichtfouse, referring to the appearance of catalytic converters. According to scientists from Nancy, who have published agricultural pollution maps, the concentrations of these three metals increase very sharply when approaching the road. Between 50 and 0 meters, the concentration of palladium increases by 39% and those of hydrocarbons by 60% (2). Because the latter would not have been completely eliminated. Explanation from Dr Eric Lichtfouse: “there are always releases of aromatic hydrocarbons (3) because some vehicles remain poorly equipped and the catalytic converters are only really operational at the right temperature. Remember that most cars make journeys that do not exceed 10 kilometers… ”
"All guilty" And what would be the harmfulness of these three metals, the most toxic of which is palladium?
"The consequences for humans are unknown, but studies on rat lung cells have shown that there are many toxic effects ”, underlines the researcher from Dijon. “We also found that these metals, when combined with a little organic matter, were very soluble and passed easily into the blood. "
The feeling of Dr. Eric Lichtfouse? "We are in this business, we motorists, all guilty! Everyone really needs to be aware of the need to keep car traffic to a minimum, ”he said. "This also involves the development of other means of transport such as the train, electric cars, fuel cell ... If we find such residues in the fields, can you imagine their concentrations in the city? "
Cyrill Bignault
(1) Interested persons can consult this article in English on the site www.agronomy-journal.org
(2) According to the study, the highest doses of palladium, 23 nanograms per gram of grass, were found between 0 and 10 meters from the road. The researchers also identified, for the same distance, 260 ng of aromatic hydrocarbons per gram of grass.
(3) Hydrocarbons, some of which are carcinogenic, come from exhaust gases and are produced by the incomplete combustion of petrol and diesel.
We are all guilty ... of course, but what are the industrialists who manufacture these filths? Ah yes they are RICH ...
http://www.lejsl.com/actu/setl/20080903.JSA5236.html
Yes, I have heard that it has been known for more than 10 years in the USA, in particular in California, a highly polluted state and leader in terms of the fight against automobile pollution ...