Estimation of Motor Vehicle Toxic Emissions in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City

The contribution of gasoline-powered vehicles to air toxic emissions in the Metropolitan Area of Mexico City (MAMC) is not well established. The MAMC has particular geographic conditions such as being in a valley at high altitude (2280 m above sea level) and has a very old and technologically heterogeneous vehicular fleet. Toxic compounds emitted by the exhaust of motor vehicles (e.g., benzene, 1,3-butadiene, formaldehyde, and acetaldehyde) were estimated. In this work, tests using Mexican gasolines in a vehicular fleet representative of the MAMC (ca. 1999) were carried out. As a comparison, some tests were done using an American gasoline (Federal Reformulated Gasoline, RFG-1) in a representative fleet of vehicles operated in Mexico