Nd4speed

Hi Guys,
I started part time commuting to work and ironically the safest route for me so far has me riding in the bike lane right next to traffic. How do you guys deal with exhaust fumes? I've been thinking about one of those masks that you wear around your neck and just pull up over your nose. Looking for something that doesn't impair breathing too much if possible. Thanks.

phughes

The mask you are considering will do absolutely nothing for exhaust fumes. Try google. You will find what you are looking for, but won't want to wear it.

roadcrankr

Think in practical, common sense terms, my friend.
It's not like you're sucking on everyone's exhaust pipe.
Probably .02% fumes and 99.98% breathable air. It ain't gonna kill ya!

MagnaRota

No, masks are useless. (OK I won't go there...) It's not likely to be harmful, it just stinks. Consider that vehicles are going to emit the most exhaust when they're taking off from a stop so maybe try staying away from them when they're stopped at a light if you can and if it's really unpleasant. Toll collectors experience that in their booths which is why they sometimes have a sign up asking you to take off slowly.

Clyde1820

Nd4speed ,

Check out 3M's recommendation for one common chemical gas contaminant in air that you'll typically find when walking or cycling next to a busy flow of motor vehicles. phughes is correct. You're not going to like what's necessary to actually protect against the gaseous fumes that come from vehicle exhaust.

The "SA" (supplied air) type respirators are, um, big and ugly. They contain their own air supplies (think SCBA tanks or the units that firemen use on the job). This is what 3M deems required to satisfactorily guard against inhaling carbon monoxide. While some other masking options will catch at least some of the small airborne particulates present near roadways, little short of a SCBA system will catch the gaseous compounds you'll find there. In short, on a bike, either carry a SCBA or accept that you're going to be inhaling some crud you cannot otherwise avoid; else, don't be there.

My solution: ride/walk elsewhere, at venues and along routes where there is a minimum of contaminants I have to worry about. Best options are in wide-open spaces, places with some wind that takes much of the pollution away from me, etc.

Urban jungles are bad news for breathing uncontaminated air. And there isn't much a person can do about it. I wish there were.

That said, exhaust fumes are deadly dangerous. In sufficient amounts, it can absolutely kill you. And it won't take that long in a confined space for the nasty effects to begin. But, to this day, in more than five decades of cycling, I have yet to be faced with anything other than minor lung irritation as a result of cycling or walking along roadways for a couple of hour. Assuming, of course, those roadways are relatively lighter on the doses of airborne crud I have to suck in.

anga

A mask with activated charcoal filter can adsorb carbon monoxide and other parts of exhaust fumes.

MagnaRota

No, activated carbon will do no good at all against carbon monoxide! The only way to get rid of carbon monoxide is to burn it, and the only way to protect yourself from it in the air is an air tank like a fireman uses.

cyccommute 

Not according to this company

flangehead

We can’t tell what your context is.

I commute on stroads in suburban area and I make moves to avoid packs of cars. At a red light I often pull over to let the pack go ahead. Though my objective is a safer situation, I’m also moving away from exhaust.

blacknbluebikes 

I just hold my breath the entire ride. Kinda stoned when I get there, but, ah... what?

cyccommute 

No, you aren’t. A vehicle is a huge battering ram when it comes to air. When they move, they punch a huge hole in the air that causes the air to flow around them and mix in their wake. When they stop, the air they have shoved out of the way catches up to them and mixes any gases they produce with other parts of the atmosphere. The extent to which this mixing occurs depends on the speed of the cars, of course, but even for a relatively slow speed road, the air mixing is going to be 10s of feet from the side of the road.

flangehead

Agreed. Depends very much on situation and location.

In my area, I don’t sense much in the air other than large vehicles with low exhaust pipes Ike buses and delivery vans. Semi’s usually have above-cab exhausts.

anga

Yes, according tohttps://www.google.co.in/search?q=ac...arbon+monoxide

cyccommute 

The first filter they show is 11L volume, made of metal, and likely weighs several pounds. It is hardly something that you can wear as a filter mask. The premise of the article is somewhat wrong, as well. Carbon monoxide poisoning does not come from sources outside of buildings. If carbon monoxide levels are high enough to incapacitate or kill the residents of a building, the source of the carbon monoxide comes from some source inside the building. There is essentially no filter that could handle that kind of problem because the level of CO is high enough to overwhelm the filter or it may not even past through the filter.

They show another filter from Bauer that doesn’t use activated carbon but uses a copper/manganese catalyst. But it doesn’t seem that the filter is for home use. It’s part of some kind of industrial air scrubber system.

Nd4speed

Yeah, I think I'm just going to have to budget more time and find a longer but cleaner route. Thanks.

raceboy

Air is roughly 79% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. Because science.

anga

Selective quoting.
I am done debating.

cyccommute 

As opposed to your selective quoting? Look if a simple painter’s mask or even a respirator worked against CO, would we just use them to prevent CO deaths? I provided a link from a company that makes activated carbon filter masks and they said that activated carbon has no efficacy against carbon monoxide. You provided a link from a chef. Who you gonna believe?

roadcrankr

Fixed my original blurb, mister science guy.

Darth Lefty 

I never have yet heard of anyone dying of CO while outdoors. Maybe in some industrial setting it could happen. In the midcentury old days at my employer they had a guy die of hypoxia due to a nitrogen purge in a big facility. There's not much anyhow because engines operate near ideal mixture to mostly make water / CO2. Then, CO is one of the things converted in the catalytic converter. Which by the way is an amazing excellent invention we should all be thankful for.

An N95 mask is the minimum to filter particles you are breathing in, which is more reasonable to argue about. There is a nonmedical version (3M 8511) that filters only in, not out so it breathes a little easier. I researched this in consideration of buying a box for when it's fire season around here, ultimately decided to just drive. But merely for car exhaust? Anything better is a respirator with filter cans like they use for auto painting and for filming Breaking Bad

cyccommute 

CO is just slightly lighter than air so it diffuses and gets diluted. A large release might result in an open air fatality but it would have to a whole lot. CO is more of a problem in enclosed spaces. I did work on a project where we were making very high concentrations of carbon monoxide through gasification of biomass which would probably have resulted in enough of a release of CO to cause a fatality in open air but that was thousands of cubic feet of syngas at about 60% concentration. It was also quite hot…500°C (950°F)…so your lungs would be toast before they had a chance to absorb any CO. In fact, we eroded an elbow on a transfer line (10” line) and the jet ignited into a 15’ jet of flame.

I’ve been meaning to mention this but have been looking for actual numbers. Basically, it’s next to impossible to die of CO poisoning in a closed garage anymore because there is very little CO produced by modern engines. Even a tank of gas wouldn’t do it.
Even respirator filters aren’t all that effective against CO. There are some canisters that can work but they are larger and heavier than normal filters. Carbon monoxide is difficult because it is a permanent gas and permanent gases are hard to absorb onto anything. There are emergency breathing systems for mines that last about 4 hours but they don’t use activated charcoal.

Korina

Good idea. Nothing wrong with a longer ride.

And the bickering continues, even in your absence. Welcome to Bike Forums!

SkinGriz

^ This.

The only thing you can reasonably filter out is the carbon soot in diesel exhaust.

Most diesels these days aren’t putting out a lot of soot with their traps.

Sardines

The noxious pollution are a necessary evil for commuters in urban traffic. The Respro filters are FFP3 but there's leakage from the not so optimized seal. Still better than nothing. Older trucks and cars will pollute more. FFP3/N95-99 claims to filter NOx etc, but doesn't say how much, but like I said, better than nothing and at least it keeps the PM10+ out.