Air quality standard for cars 'too weak'
By Yang Jian |
November 23, 2011, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINA'S first air quality standard for car interiors has been branded too weak by environmental industry figures and drivers.
The standard, to be introduced next March for domestic automakers, permits higher levels of some pollutants than are allowed in homes.
There is also criticism that the Guideline for Air Quality Assessment of Passenger Cars, issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, does not include enough standards.
The guideline covers major pollutants such as five benzenes and three aldehydes for car interior air. But two standards - for methylbenzene and dimethylbenzene - are lower than that of the country's indoor air criteria.
Many interior fittings, particularly plastic components and glue, emit fumes containing these substances.
"The guideline should involve more standards, including volatile organic compound from petrol fumes and the PM2.5, or harmful polluting particulates smaller in diameter than 2.5 microns, that may come from air-conditioning," Li Wei, secretary general of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Association, said yesterday.
He said the current standards were mainly set for vehicles that had just been manufactured, but neglected pollution that arose afterward.
Many local drivers also complained online that, given that they were sitting in the same position in the equivalent of a small room for a long time, they were more likely to be affected by pollutants than people in houses.
The guideline may have been set to avoid putting too much pressure on domestic automakers, Li said.
Excessive levels of poisonous chemicals are found in the interiors of more than 70 percent of private cars in Shanghai, while more than 65 percent of Chinese drivers suffer from dizziness, fatigue and coughs because of interior air problems, according to a previous investigation by the China Indoor Environment Test Center.
"The standard cannot be too high, since it is the country's first such guideline and should be feasible," said Song Guangsheng, director of the center. However, he said it was at least a first step in alerting automakers to interior air quality concerns.
The standard, to be introduced next March for domestic automakers, permits higher levels of some pollutants than are allowed in homes.
There is also criticism that the Guideline for Air Quality Assessment of Passenger Cars, issued by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, does not include enough standards.
The guideline covers major pollutants such as five benzenes and three aldehydes for car interior air. But two standards - for methylbenzene and dimethylbenzene - are lower than that of the country's indoor air criteria.
Many interior fittings, particularly plastic components and glue, emit fumes containing these substances.
"The guideline should involve more standards, including volatile organic compound from petrol fumes and the PM2.5, or harmful polluting particulates smaller in diameter than 2.5 microns, that may come from air-conditioning," Li Wei, secretary general of the Shanghai Environmental Protection Association, said yesterday.
He said the current standards were mainly set for vehicles that had just been manufactured, but neglected pollution that arose afterward.
Many local drivers also complained online that, given that they were sitting in the same position in the equivalent of a small room for a long time, they were more likely to be affected by pollutants than people in houses.
The guideline may have been set to avoid putting too much pressure on domestic automakers, Li said.
Excessive levels of poisonous chemicals are found in the interiors of more than 70 percent of private cars in Shanghai, while more than 65 percent of Chinese drivers suffer from dizziness, fatigue and coughs because of interior air problems, according to a previous investigation by the China Indoor Environment Test Center.
"The standard cannot be too high, since it is the country's first such guideline and should be feasible," said Song Guangsheng, director of the center. However, he said it was at least a first step in alerting automakers to interior air quality concerns.
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