Chris Cherry, assistant professor in civil and environmental engineering, and graduate student Shuguang Ji, analyzed the emissions and environmental health impacts of five vehicle technologies, focusing on dangerous fine particles.
They found that the electricity generated to power electric cars caused more particulate matter pollution than that caused by an equivalent number of petrol driven vehicles.
Particulate matter comes from the combustion of fossil fuels and includes acids, organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles.
Professor Cherry said: 'An implicit assumption has been that air quality and health impacts are lower for electric vehicles than for conventional vehicles.
'Our findings challenge that by comparing what is emitted by vehicle use to what people are actually exposed to.'
Professor Cherry and his team focused on China because of the popularity of electric vehicles. E-cars and e-bikes in the country now outnumber conventional vehicles two to one.
For electric vehicles, combustion emissions occur where electricity is generated rather than where the vehicle is used.
In China, 85 per cent of electricity production is from fossil fuels, about 90 per cent of that is from coal.
The authors discovered that the power generated in China to operate electric vehicles emitted fine particles at a much higher rate than gasoline vehicles. In terms of air pollution impacts, they found, electric cars are more harmful to public health per kilometre traveled in China than conventional vehicles
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2100936/Could-e-cars-cause-pollution-normal-ones-Study-shows-impact-worse-petrol-powered-vehicles.html#ixzz1mMNuB7QN
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