ABSTRACT
Everyone knows that air pollution is never good for you; it's unhealthy, especially for the young, old and infirm, causing serious lung damage and breathing difficulties, as well as exacerbating heart problems. Most outdoor air pollution comes from burning fossil fuels to produce electricity or heat, or from internal combustion engines. It is the mixture of nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and small particles from vehicle exhausts that are serious air pollutants, although exposure to open burning of fuels such as wood and dung can run this a close second. The way that the European Union (EU) tries to enforce this limit is by specifying how much emission is allowed to be generated by vehicles, and Regulation 715/2007/EC specifies emission limits for all important toxic pollutants. The NOx emission limit set for new diesel passenger cars and light vans sold in the EU in 2017 was 80 mg of the gas per kilometre driven.
