A study out of the University of Alberta has found sunlight causes chemical reactions in the dust found on Edmonton’s roads.
The research by environmental chemist Sarah Styler discovered that light reacts with road dust and can cause a chemical reaction.
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Styler and other scientists are attempting to better understand the urban environment and its components.
They found road dust is made up from exhaust emissions from vehicles, particles from tire treads, debris from the road itself and runoff from nearby parks and yards.
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Styler will now try to figure out what the reaction between road dust and sunlight means for people.
The research,”Photochemical Production of Singlet Oxygen by Urban Road Dust,” was recently published in the journal, Environmental Science and Technology Letters.
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