Why 'Greener' Gas-Powered Vehicles Aren't As Clean As You Think

Credit: Orlando_Stocker/Shutterstock.com Gas-powered vehicles that use cleaner

technology may still be spewing tons of harmful chemicals into the atmosphere, new research suggests. Newer "greener" vehicles are equipped with technology that traps most particulate matter and mostly emit vapors. However, those vapors may still chemically react with other compounds in the atmosphere to form pollutants — it may just take a little while longer, according to a new study. [The 10 Most Polluted Places on Earth] Air pollution When cars combust gasoline, they produce a mixture of vapor, teensy droplets and miniscule solid particles that leave a vehicle's exhaust pipe and rise up into the atmosphere. The solid particles, called primary organic aerosols, are what most people thnk of when they picture the sooty black particles belching from a stinky tailpipe. Some of these particles are less than about 2.5 micrometers in diameter, small enough to burrow deep into a person's lungs and even circulate in the bloodstream, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. These particles have been tied to heart and lung problems, according to a 2006 study in the Journal of Air & Waste Management Association. However, secondary organic aerosols (SOAs), which can form in a chemical reaction between sunlight and organic compounds from tailpipes, trees, and power plants, may also have an effect on health, according to the EPA.