I use the Lyft app on my iPhone to get a ride to the Toronto Pearson airport for an early morning flight. As I step into the black Chevrolet, I clip my Atmotube air monitor onto my bag. I have noticed previously that many taxi cab drivers use a lot of air fresheners and perfumes, presumably to improve customer experience. Long before the dawn, the cab’s windows are closed tightly for the winter ride. The heat is on high, and I doze on the comfortable leather seats as we drive on the Gardiner and the 401 highway, curving northward. It smells strongly of sweet lily mixed with a sour musk. These fragrances and scents are also composed of VOC derived from crude oil, refined, and then processed into upstream products made from benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. Their toxic compositions are trade secrets. Air freshener products used in vehicles are designed to slowly release scents embedded in gel as it evaporates. I wonder what the name for the scent is, as they often have florid names such as “titanium rain.”
For the 19 minutes I am in the car, the reading climbs from 1.3, the level of my apartment, to as high as 8.03ppm. With the windows shut, this level would likely remain constant. When I press a button, a little laser that shows the color of the air quality shoots out red, for low quality. I realize the air fresheners are made from much of the same feedstocks as motor oil, coolants, and transmission fluids. Leaving the car, the TVOC level goes back down to 1.5 inside the airport. I say thank you for the ride, concerned about the long term health impacts of working in an environment with such high levels of fragrance. How does the concept of biochemical fate apply to this scene?
I use the Lyft app on my iPhone to get a ride to the Toronto Pearson airport for an early morning flight. As I step into the black Chevrolet, I clip my Atmotube air monitor onto my bag. I have noticed previously that many taxi cab drivers use a lot of air fresheners and perfumes, presumably to improve customer experience. Long before the dawn, the cab’s windows are closed tightly for the winter ride. The heat is on high, and I doze on the comfortable leather seats as we drive on the Gardiner and the 401 highway, curving northward. It smells strongly of sweet lily mixed with a sour musk. These fragrances and scents are also composed of VOC derived from crude oil, refined, and then processed into upstream products made from benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene. Their toxic compositions are trade secrets. Air freshener products used in vehicles are designed to slowly release scents embedded in gel as it evaporates. I wonder what the name for the scent is, as they often have florid names such as “titanium rain.”
For the 19 minutes I am in the car, the reading climbs from 1.3, the level of my apartment, to as high as 8.03ppm. With the windows shut, this level would likely remain constant. When I press a button, a little laser that shows the color of the air quality shoots out red, for low quality. I realize the air fresheners are made from much of the same feedstocks as motor oil, coolants, and transmission fluids. Leaving the car, the TVOC level goes back down to 1.5 inside the airport. I say thank you for the ride, concerned about the long term health impacts of working in an environment with such high levels of fragrance. How does the concept of biochemical fate apply to this scene?