Ubiquity of hazardous airborne substances on passenger ferries.

The ferry service of the city of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) is one of the busiest in the world. However, a disadvantage of this mass transportation is the large emissions of hazardous substances from diesel combustion. We measured fine particulate matter (PM), equivalent black carbon (eBC), particle number (PN) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) while commuting by double-decker ferries.