제 목 : European Commission Proposes Emission and Fuel Standards
일 자 : 1996년 10월
제공처 : Safety ＆ Health
The European Commission has proposed rules to reduce passenger-car
pollution in the European Union to meet World Health Organization
limit values early next century.
According to car manufacturers, the proposals will force them
to carry the bulk of the costs associated with the changes.
The European Automobile Manufacturers Association says that
the new rules must divide the effort fairly between the oil
industry and the automobile industry.
The association is concerned that the commission has decided not
to require fuel producers to significantly reduce the sulphur
content of diesel and petrol. A reduction in sulphur would
contribute to decreases in atmospheric nitrogen oxides,
which are major pollutants in European cities.
However, Malcolm Ferguson from the lnternational Union of Air
Pollution Prevention and Environ-mental Protection Associations
says that the oil companies simply made a more "clever" case to
the commission than that of the automobile manufacturers.
"The most cost-efficient means are, at the moment,
based on vehicle-exhaust systems," says John Berry of the commission,
and that will mean altered exhaust technology. Particulate matter
and regional ozone were added to the list of pollutants.
Nevertheless, fuel will need to be modified early next century to
meet the WHO's higher standards.
In any case, it appears almost certain that the European
Parliament will reject the commission's current proposals.
"The parliament is exceptionally hostile to the commission's
proposals, because they don't go far enough. They argue that
the pollution problems are understated and that the health effects
are only just being discovered," says Berry. "Environmental groups
are also concerned about pollution levels close to the road
and in vehicles, rather that in general areas, such as towns.
If you measure it their way, the pollution levels are far higher."
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