When a driver cranks up her car heater or air conditioner, a cabin air filter blocks dust, pollen, and

particulate matter from vehicle exhaust

from blowing into the car. But these filters struggle to catch super-tiny exhaust particles that may contribute to lung and heart disease. Now
researchers report that a new cabin filter with small fibers can trap large amounts of particulate matter, especially possibly
damaging ultrafine particles (Environ. Sci. & Technol.!"#, $%&' 10.1021/es404952q(.
)cientists know that micrometer-diameter particulate matter poses cardiovascular and pulmonary health risks. But a growing body of
research suggests that smaller particulates from vehicle exhaust can also lodge in people*s lungs, enter the circulatory system, and cause
inflammation, which may trigger asthma attacks or worsen heart disease. +ltrafine particles (+,-s(, which are less than "!! nm in diameter,
can penetrate deeper into the lungs than other particulate matter can. .hey also dance around the pollution-trapping fibers in current cabin
air filters.
/any people may not know that such tiny particles exist, much less that they pose health risks, so automakers may not feel the need to
install better filters, says Yifang Zhu of the Universit !f "alif!rnia# $!s %ngeles. .o curb exposure on their own, passengers could
turn off the cars* open-air ventilation and set the cabin air to recirculate. But over time carbon dioxide levels can build up to five or more times
the outdoor concentration as passengers exhale. )ome research, 0hu says, suggests that 1% at that level impairs reaction time and
decision-making in drivers.
0hu and +123 colleague 4on ). 2ee sought a way around this 1%-versus-+,- dilemma. .hey thought the solution could be high efficiency
cabin air filters. .he researchers obtained two types of custom-made filters from )wit5erland-based firm &'%ir. Both filters are made from
glass and polymer fibers smaller than those in conventional filters. 0hu and 2ee figured that the smaller, closer-packed fibers would block
more +,-s.
.o test that prediction, they put a do5en passenger vehicles through four separate test drives each involving a different filter scenario' .hey
drove the vehicles on local roads and a freeway with the already installed conventional filter, each of the two new &63ir filters, and no filter
installed. .he researchers monitored in-cabin and outdoor air 7uality through several standard methods, including condensation particle
counters. .he new filters far outperformed the manufacturer-installed ones, the researchers found. .he custom filter with the smallest fibers
kept +,- levels in the cabin 89 to 88: lower than outdoor road levels. 1onventional filters achieved ;ust 9< to =!: reductions.
.he researchers caution that these tests are short-term ones. .hey don*t know yet if the new filters can maintain that performance in the long
term. /oreover, the custom filters* smaller and denser fibers cause air to flow into the cabin somewhat more slowly than conventional filters
do. 3lso it*s not yet clear how much these filters would cost to make and install, 0hu says. )till, this proof-of-concept study, she says, shows
the filters* promise at letting drivers keep outside air flowing in, while keeping +,- out.
$oug Brugge, a professor of public health and community medicine at (ufts Universit, agrees that the study is a good demonstration of
the benefits of the new filters. >e suggests that the team also study the filters in a more real-world context. ,or example, some passengers
may roll down their windows, hurting the filters* effectiveness, he says.