Exposure to Automobile Exhaust

Pulmonary Function Tests Were Performed on 267 Policemen With Defined Exposure to Automobile Exhaust as Part of Their Initial Assessment in a Prospective Study of Health Effects of Exposure to Automobile Exhaust. Differences in Exposure Were Monitored With Historical Data on Exposure in Traffic and Measures of Hair Lead Concentrations. In Spite of Differences in Apparent Exposure, No Differences in Any of the Pulmonary Function Test Findings Could Be Identified After Standardizing for Age, Height, and Cigarette Smoking Habits. Flow-Volume Measurements Appeared to Be More Sensitive to Levels of Cigarette Smoking Than Measurements of Forced Expiratory Volume in One Second. This Prospective Investigation Is Designed to Follow Changes in Pulmonary Function Over Several Years, Using Each Man as His Own Control and Repeatedly Assessing Actual Street Level Exposure to Automobile Exhaust. (A)