Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Emissions of many air pollutants have been shown to have variety of negative effects on public health and the natural environment. Emissions that are principal pollutants of concern include: Hydrocarbons (HC) – A class of burned or partially burned fuel, hydrocarbons are toxins.
Haagen-Smit also discovered that these air pollutants react with sunlight to form ozone, a major component of smog. As a response to this situation, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) was established in 1967 with Haagen-Smit as its first chairman. CARB set stringent vehicle emission standards to reduce air pollution in the state.
The California Air Resources Board found in studies that 50% or more of the air pollution in Southern California is due to car emissions. [ citation needed ] Concentrations of pollutants emitted from combustion engines may be particularly high around signalized intersections because of idling and accelerations.
EPA staff project that the new rule will lower carbon dioxide emissions by about 7.2 billion metric tons, while also cutting thousands of tons of other air pollutants.
Emission standards set quantitative limits on the permissible amount of specific air pollutants that may be released from specific sources over specific timeframes. They are generally designed to achieve air quality standards and to protect human life. Different regions and countries have different standards for vehicle emissions.
For example, the Clean Air Car Check is a vehicle emissions-testing program for all vehicles registered in Lake and Porter counties in Indiana. The two counties were designated as non-attainment areas for ozone levels in 1977 by the Environmental Protection Agency.
Emissions from diesel vehicles are more harmful than those from petrol vehicles. [40] [41] [42] Diesel combustion exhaust is a source of atmospheric soot and fine particles, which is a component of the air pollution implicated in human cancer, [43] [44] heart and lung damage, [45] and mental functioning. [46]
Section 202(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act requires the Administrator of the EPA to establish standards "applicable to the emission of any air pollutant from…new motor vehicles or new motor vehicle engines, which in [her] judgment cause, or contribute to, air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare" (emphasis added). [3]