Zhengzhou, Henan province, decides to recommend or let drivers to choose the firms to monitor their cars’ tail gas emission with a view to further improving car exhaust pollution to the air.
In the last few years, the number of automobiles increased rapidly and caused serious tail gas pollution to the air in the city proper. The pollution factors such as nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide along the city’s major road system all exceed the state-prescribed standards. Tail gas becomes the culprit to air pollution, only second to fuel coal.
Since 1998, the city has handled more than 40,000 automobiles that emitted tail gas surpassing the state-prescribed standards. The environmentally unfriendly cars have dropped to 40% from 50 to 60% previously. The results provided by the city’s monitoring station, the atmospheric pollution index in the city proper has been falling year by year though the number of cars are rising rapidly.
Cheng Youliang, director of the city’s environmental protection administration, said in an interview with CEN that the city’s environmental protection industrial association recommends 14 types of tail gas purification devices and 17 tail gas control firms for the customers. However, it is not compulsory, he said. The customers may choose whatever they like so far as their cars pass through annual tail gas checks.
(www.cenews.com.cn July 29, 2002)
