Concern over US older car emmissions GROWS...

[ozpont]

Older cars' emissions go unchecked
CHICAGO — Seven of the 32 states that test car emissions do not check vehicles built before 1996 models, allowing the oldest cars that spew the most pollution to stay on the road without requiring repairs. More states are considering adopting similar plans...

Some interesting reading....

  EMISSIONS TRENDS
 
In at least parts of eight states that require emissions testing, pre-1996 cars are exempt. Those cars account for less than one-quarter of miles driven but more than 60% of all emissions. A look at state testing:

Testing required

Alaska
Arizona
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Delaware
District of Columbia
Georgia
Idaho
Indiana
Maryland
Massachusetts
Nevada
New Mexico
Ohio
Oregon
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Virginia
Washington

States that test only cars from 1996 or later

Arkansas
Illinois
Louisiana
Maine
New Hampshire
New York
North Carolina
Vermont

States considering testing only model year 1996 or later cars

New Jersey
Wisconsin

Notes: Missouri program goes into effect in September 2007. New York metropolitan area tests all cars. Other areas do not test pre-1996 models.

Source:  U.S. Environmental Protection Agency


    Older cars' emissions go unchecked
 

By Judy Keen, USA TODAY
CHICAGO — Seven of the 32 states that test car emissions do not check vehicles built before 1996 models, allowing the oldest cars that spew the most pollution to stay on the road without requiring repairs. More states are considering adopting similar plans.
State officials acknowledge that the policy will slow improvements in air quality until old cars gradually disappear from the roads, but taxpayers will save money as states use cheaper testing through diagnostic computers standard in most cars made since 1995.

Nationwide, about 70% of the 238 million cars and trucks in use are 1996 or later models, the Environmental Protection Agency says. Cars older than 1996 models account for about one-fourth of miles driven but contribute more than two-thirds of total auto air pollution, says Joel Schwartz, an environmental consultant in Sacramento.


RELATED: Emissions rules aimed at cutting costs, driver ire

The EPA has raised emissions standards for new cars several times over the past three decades, so new cars operate more cleanly. Car emissions include hydrocarbons and other compounds that contribute to greenhouse gases and ground-level ozone, or smog.

In February, Illinois limited testing to 1996 models and later. Missouri will stop testing pre-1996 cars in September. Wisconsin and New Jersey are considering similar changes.

"It's a real mistake," says Janice Nolen of the American Lung Association. She says car emissions can harm children, the elderly and asthma sufferers.

States that don't test the oldest cars "probably have more pollution," but older cars usually are driven less, says the EPA's Margo Oge.

In the Chicago area, where tests are required, the state's cost for each inspection is likely to drop from $13 for each car to $6.95. That could cut the annual cost from $42 million to $13 million. Illinois tested about 1.9 million cars last year; about 26% of them were pre-1996 models.

Thirty-two states and Washington, D.C., test statewide or in big cities with pollution problems. Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire, Upstate New York, North Carolina and Vermont test only 1996 and newer cars. Elsewhere:

•Missouri, which requires tests in the St. Louis area, will stop testing vehicles older than '96 models this fall. "Cars are getting cleaner, and that outweighs the loss (in air quality) we'll see," says Leanne Tippett Mosby of the state Division of Environmental Quality.

•Wisconsin is debating whether to end testing of pre-1996 model cars in seven counties that now require it.

"We need to get the old junkers off the road," state Sen. Jeff Plale says. He favors giving owners of old cars grants or loans to replace them or ending emissions tests and using the money to build rail lines and expand bus systems.[/b]