THE creature comforts that keep you cosy could be a magnet for benzene pollution from car exhausts. Benzene levels are higher in houses than outdoors, especially in colder northern countries where carpets, wooden floors and linoleum are common, say researchers in Europe.
Benzene is a known carcinogen, and pollution from car exhausts is thought to contribute to leukaemia cases. To study people's exposure to emissions, Vincenzo Cocheo of the non-profit Salvatore Maugeri Foundation in Padua and his colleagues monitored the average outdoor benzene levels in six European towns: Antwerp, Athens, Copenhagen, Murcia, Padua and Rouen. In each town, they also measured levels in the homes of 50 volunteers, who also wore benzene monitors.
Except in Athens, the levels of benzene the volunteers were actually exposed to were significantly higher than both the levels in the streets and average levels indoors. Indoor levels were higher than outdoor levelsand highest in northern ...
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