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Testing of truck diesel fumes gears down
Despite a massive growth in the big vehicles, there has been a reduction in emissions testing
By Larry Pynn, Vancouver Sun, Tuesday, May 14, 2002The number of heavy-duty diesel trucks in the Lower Mainland has skyrocketed over the past 20 years, while the provincial program established to protect public health from toxic diesel fumes and ensure compliance with emission standards has virtually ground to a halt.
The province launched the AirCare On Road enforcement program in May 1999 to randomly test diesel trucks exceeding 5,000 kilograms gross vehicle weight for emissions compliance in Greater Vancouver. But as a result of Insurance Corp. of B.C. downsizing, only 17 trucks have been tested since the program was gutted by early retirements last November, figures obtained by The Vancouver Sun reveal.
That compares with 512 trucks tested during the fiscal year ending May 2001, still a modest figure given the approximately 23,000 heavy-duty diesel trucks registered in the Lower Mainland, the major airshed in the Strait of Georgia.
In comparison, Ontario requires all 200,000 heavy-duty trucks in the province -- not just those in Toronto and other major centres -- be tested annually for diesel emissions.
Joyce Murray, B.C. minister of water, land and air protection, expressed concern over the dramatic reduction in the ICBC program, part of the finance ministry. "I'm disappointed to hear that program is being reduced. We know the Fraser Valley's air quality is a problem. We know that vehicles and transportation are the biggest part of that. It makes sense to reduce the pollution from vehicles."
Even proponents of diesel, especially the newer trucks equipped with pollution-reduction technology, expressed shock at just how far the program has fallen. "Is that all?" responded Roger Young, a diesel-engine mechanics instructor at B.C. Institute of Technology. "That's pathetic. I didn't know it had dwindled off. They should be tested. I hope someone does something about it."
Concerns over the fate of AirCare On Road and the health risks associated with breathing diesel fumes have prompted the Greater Vancouver regional district to consider taking over the program. A consultant's report on the issue is due for public release in about a month.
"There's more and more on the road," GVRD senior engineer John Newhook said of diesel trucks. "That's why we think it's important to have a heavy-duty diesel program."
Newhook noted that while the biggest rigs have traditionally used diesel engines, the number of smaller, but still heavy-duty commercial trucks converting to diesel from gasoline has been rising dramatically in Greater Vancouver. Over the past two decades, the sales of trucks rated up to 7,257 kilograms gross vehicle weight using diesel increased to 75 per cent from less than five per cent; among trucks rated from 7,257 to 15,000 kilograms, sales increased to almost 100 per cent from 25 per cent.
Diesel emissions are rated according to opacity -- the amount of light blocked by diesel smoke emitted from the truck's exhaust pipe. A 1991 truck or newer must meet an opacity standard of 40 per cent compared with a more lenient 55-per-cent standard for older vehicles.
During a recent seepage-control capital project in the Capilano watershed, the GVRD stipulated the successful bidder ensure that his trucks be 1994 models or newer, in deference to residents' concerns about exhaust pollution along Nancy Greene Way in North Vancouver.
AirCare On Road relies in large part on the subjective judgment of the employees administering the program to take a look at passing trucks, decide which ones deserved to be pulled over for a closer inspection, and, of those, which ones should be submitted to a roadside opacity test.
Those who fail have 30 days to repair the problem and be retested. Truckers who fail to comply won't be able to renew their insurance.
The Sun obtained the most recent AirCare On Road statistics following an appeal to the B.C. finance ministry of ICBC's regional compliance manager Perry Dennis' repeated refusal to release them. Unlike AirCare, which become a responsibility of TransLink within Greater Vancouver, in 1999, AirCare On Road remains the responsibility of ICBC.
The statistics show that just 192 vehicles were pulled over for a visual screening since ICBC staff reductions last November. Of those, 17 received an opacity test, and eight failed, all trucks 1990 models or older. Another 54 safety-violation tickets were issued.
Statistics for the last fiscal year showed that 2,827 vehicles were pulled over for a visual inspection. Of those, 512 received an opacity test, of which 255 older and 23 new trucks failed. The program also issued 464 safety violation tickets.
The program used to operate with two two-person teams. The retirements made it impossible for the program to operate at all over most of the winter, pending the training of a new person. In fact, all 17 tests were performed within March and April when the program resumed.
AirCare On Road now operates one two-person team comprised of a technician to do the testing, and one peace officer to handle the ticketing. The latter is Steve Parkinson, but he also has office duties that require his attention. "I have other responsibilities," he confirmed. "It takes away from my time in the field. But we do what we can."
The number of heavy-duty trucks checked under AirCare on Road compares poorly with the 850,000 vehicles tested last year under AirCare. Vehicles 1991 and older must be tested annually for a fee of $24. Newer vehicles are tested every two years at a charge of $48.
About 18,000 light-duty diesel trucks were subjected to an opacity test last year, with the pass standard ranging from 30 to 70 per cent, depending on the age of the vehicle.
Diesel trucks are increasingly popular because their engines are generally more fuel efficient, and provide better torque for pulling loads. "Let's say a gas engine has 300 horsepower and 250 foot pounds of torque -- the same diesel engine could have 1,200 foot pounds of torque," said Young.
Older diesels are far more polluting than vehicles with newer technologies such as electronics that control the proper flow of fuel under various driving conditions, Young said.
Diesel fumes are comprised of particulates measuring less than 2.5 microns, so small they can be absorbed deep into the lungs, and are considered carcinogenic. ICBC's own Web site describes "fine particles as the number one air-quality concern for public health."
To demonstrate how AirCare On Road works, ICBC agreed to set up a test at the truck weigh station on Nordel Way next to the Alex Fraser Bridge in North Delta.
Like a wolf culling out the weak and the sick, Parkinson sized up the pack of trucks proceeding past the weigh scale and pulled over a 1981 International owned by J & L Beef Ltd. The driver, Steve Laney, a trucker of 14 years, pumped the pedal, while a probe was inserted down the exhaust.
The results didn't look good, big black puffs of smoke heading skyward. Sure enough, the truck failed, scoring a 64-per-cent opacity grade -- nine points away from a pass. "You had to pick on the oldest truck," Laney jokingly remarks from his cab. "I thought I was okay until now."
While Laney said he supports testing, especially of older vehicles, he notes that he's seen "a lot worse" trucks -- cars, too, for that matter -- driving down on the road pouring out smoke.
Indeed, Newhook notes that under the current system (road checks are generally done on flat areas, where there is room to pull vehicles over), it's possible for a trucker to idle past without getting stopped. Other truckers might used CB radios to warn each other of road checks.
"We grapple with the question," he said. "How effective is it, and how do we improve it?"
Laney added he feels the test is unfair, since it takes a reading based on tromping the pedal, rather than a gradual buildup of revs. And while he's seen the program vans now and again, he's never been tested before -- not surprisingly, perhaps, given the state of AirCare On Road.
Charlie Ross, a spokesman for the Ontario environment ministry, said that truckers annually must have their vehicles tested for opacity (the same standards as in B.C.) at one of 600 private automotive outlets in the province, as part of a clean-air initiative launched in 1999. The fail rate is six per cent.
"We think it encourages truckers to keep their vehicles in good shape," he said.
Citizens who have information on polluting diesel trucks in Greater Vancouver can call 604-435-SMOG. Parkinson said that repeated complaints about the same vehicle will be investigated.
© Copyright 2002 Vancouver Sun
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