How Dangerous Is Your Hot Car

1
How Dangerous Is Your Hot Car?

• Car Cooking, June 2007
• Tucson, Arizona
• University of Arizona
• Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health

2
How Does Your Car Heat?

• In summer months, your car is much hotter than
  the outside temperature
• Shortwave radiation penetrates your windows and
  warms your car surfaces
• Heat from the inside car surfaces heat the air by
  conduction and convection
• This heating is very efficient
• At 80 degrees outside,the inside of your car can
  reach 123oF in 60 minutes

3
Temperature Increase

• Cracking your window has little effect

• Study Car
• - Dark blue Honda Accord
• Medium-gray interior
• No tinted windows
• Windows opened 1.5 inches
• In Fremont, CA

McLaren, Null and Quinn. Heat Stress from
Enclosed Vehicles Moderate Ambient Temperatures
Cause Significant Rise in Enclosed Vehicles,
Pediatrics, 2005 116e109-e112
4
How Does Heat Affect Us

• Our body responds to cool ourselves
• We sweat and as it evaporates, we cool
• At some point, we can no longer cool ourselves
• The core body temperature will rise
• Heatstroke occurs as core reaches 104oF
• 107oF is lethal
• Children cannot regulate temperatures as quickly
  as adults
• Childrens bodies warm at rates 3 to 5 times
  faster than adults

5
How Big Is this Problem?

• Children are dying in the US just because they
  are left in the car
• Hyperthermia Fatalities
• 2006 29
• 2005 42
• 2004 35
• 2003 42
• For the period of 1998 June 2007 331
  fatalities

6
Does a Car Get Hot Enough to Cook Food?

• A study was conducted on June 27, 2007
• University of Arizona
• 6 cars / trucks / SUVs
• Placed food in glass dishes, covered in plastic
  wrap, on aluminum foil
• Placed dishes on front or back dash
• Closed cars at 830 am
• Retrieved food at 400 pm
• Tested car temps throughout day
• Tested food temp at 400 pm to check safety
• Outside temp reached 105oF during experiment

7
How Hot Did the Cars Get?

• Some cars reached 141oF by 930
• Melted plastic thermometers!!
• Food temps at 400 pm
• Beans 135oF
• Spanish Rice 170oF
• Potato Wedges 145oF
• Cornbread 144oF
• Rice Pudding 149oF
• Eggs 120oF (were not eating this one!!)

8
Summary

• Cars get hot enough to cook food
• Dont leave your children or pets in cars
• If your child is missing, check your car
  including the trunk!!!!!!
• Cracking your window doesnt help at all

For more information, check out the link at
http//ggweather.com/heat/
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