Charity calls for in-cabin air quality testing to be added to MOT

Tests found elevated in-cabin carbon monoxide levels in 34 percent of cars

Charity calls for in-cabin air quality testing to be added to MOT

A UK safety charity has responded to the Department of Transport’s (DfT) MOT consultation by calling for the introduction of a new test for the presence of in-cabin leakage of exhaust gas.

The recommendation follows recent research funded by the CO Research Trust, which found elevated in-car carbon monoxide (CO) levels in 34 percent of cars tested.

While this was a small sample (26 cars) the public health implications of this are significant, particularly for people who spend a considerable amount of time driving.

The results of this study reproduce several larger studies that have been conducted worldwide.

CO is a colourless, tasteless, odourless, non-irritating gas produced as a by-product during the incomplete combustion of fuels. Exposure to CO can have serious health consequences, and in some cases, can be fatal.

It is accepted that the inhalation of low-level exhaust fumes is damaging to health, with the effect of CO inhalation on cardiovascular, neurological and mitochondrial function being well-documented.

Furthermore, pregnant women, children and the unborn are especially vulnerable to its effects.

In-cabin exhaust leaks may also contribute to the incidence of road traffic accidents. The threshold at which elevated carboxyhaemoglobin (the measure of CO in the blood) causes drowsiness has been placed as low as 3.4 percent, which correlates to approximately 20ppm ambient
CO.

From 2030, this issue is likely to become an increasing focus of publicised health inequality, as lower-income households find themselves driving an ageing cohort of petrol- and diesel-fuelled cars.

The Trust, which aims to reduce the incidents of death and serious injury from carbon monoxide (CO) exposure, says that in-cabin air quality testing on MOT would be a low-cost, proportional and timely response to this issue.

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