U.K. Exhaust Pollution Study
British ear manufacturers who have been worried that the Government might introduce stringent Ameri-can-style regulations on exhaust emissions will be able to breathe more easily as the result of an invesigation by the British Ministry of Transport A two-year survey of ex- | haust pollution levels has not shown any level of fumes which gives rise for concern on health grounds, the Ministry says, John Langley ■ writes in the “Daily Telegraph.”
The report, which has not yet been published, concludes I that on a cost-benefit basis, it would not be worth while at present to insist on all cars being fitted with pollutioncontrol equipment. It is estimated that pollu-tion-control devices would add anything between $2O and $BO to the cost of a car, depending on the emission standards required and the modifications needed for different types of engine. Measurements were made in the centre of Birmingham,
Manchester, Enfield, Glasgow, Cardiff and Portsmouth. They were carried out for the Ministry by the Warren Spring Laboratory of the Ministry of Technology. Results were compared with the standards set out by the Factories Inspectorate for dust and fumes in factories. On this basis, the exhaust pollution recorded did not reach the levels regarded as being a hazard to health. But having decided that exhaust fumes do not, at present, constitute a health hazard, the researchers now propose to examine the effects of exhaust emissions from the amenity point of view. Anyone who has endured the steneh of vehicle exhaust on the main routes in city centres will find it hard to believe that the manufacturers will escape scot-free on this score.
The significance of the Ministry’s findings is that there is now little likelihood of the manufacturers being forced to introduce expensive emergency methods of reducing exhaust emissions, by fitting auxiliary air pumps, as has happened in America. Such devices could easily add up to $lOO to the cost of a new car.
Manufacturers throughout the world are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on research-directed at reduc-
ing the pollution from vehicle exhausts. Given time, there is every hope that they will be able to achieve acceptably “clean” exhausts without significantly raising costs. The manufacturers had already warned the Government that if they were forced to take premature action, the cost of motoring would be bound to rise sharply. Uniform exhaust pollution standards are now being worked out by study groups of the Economic Commission for Europe. I understand that they are now getting fairly close to completing some proposals on the subject When this is done, it will be up to individual governments to decide when to incoroprate the proposed controls in their regulations. What the motor industry— European as well as British —has been anxious to avoid is the danger of individual countries setting up different standards. There have been indications that some Euro : pean countries notably West Germany and Sweden, were trying to set the pace on this issue. The Swedes, and the Swiss, have already set a time limit: they are insisting that 1971 models should comply with certain restrictions : limiting the amount of carbon dioxide in exhaust gases.
The Germans have now agreed to wait for the Eco-
nomic Commission’s proposals before taking action. The emission control regulations in the United States were introduced largely as a result of agitation in Los Angeles, which, because of geographical factors, has a special “smog” problem. The auxiliary air pumps fitted to engines to make them comply with the tests often cause a loss of performance or an increase in fuel consumption. With the big engines used in American cars, these drawbacks are less significant than is the case with the smaller-engined imported cars. Even so, it is reported that in some parts of America up to 40 per cent of owners are removing the pumps after buying the cars.
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Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32127, 24 October 1969, Page 9
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643U.K. Exhaust Pollution Study Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32127, 24 October 1969, Page 9
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