August 14, 1964
Page 19564
AIR POLLUTION BY EXHAUST FROM AUTOMOTIVE VEHICLES
Mr. MUSKIE. Mr. President, on Wednesday of this week the four major American automobile manufacturers announced that they had speeded up by 1 year their ability to design motors so as to reduce exhaust pollutants.
I think the industry is to be commended for its efforts to find a solution to the problem of air pollution caused by the exhaust from automotive vehicles. I think that the State of California is to be even more commended for its insistence that a solution be found and its leadership in bringing the automobile industry to accept the necessity of meeting standards which will reduce air pollution.
It would be my hope now that California's testing of the industry's motor design will demonstrate success in meeting the State standard.. It would be my further hope that the industry would then consider the feasibility of voluntarily fitting all of its production to meet the best standard available.
Recently, before the Special Subcommittee on Air and Water Pollution of the Senate. Committee on Public Works, the industry indicated that it was not receptive to a national standard and that it preferred to meet local requirements as they developed. My own view is that this would appear to be less efficient from a production standpoint and certainly from the standpoint of reducing air pollution.
If the industry's proposed antipollution devices do work, we will have taken a significant step toward reducing one of the biggest causes of air pollution. We should not wait too long to take the same step with used vehicles. I think the recent development in California is significant and I ask unanimous consent that the article from the Wall Street Journal reporting the event be printed in the RECORD.
There being no objection, the article was ordered to be printed in the RECORD, as follows:
AUTO FIRMS SAY SMOG UNIT CAN BE BUILT ON 1966 CARS
(California told most autos sold in State could have required control devices; plans moved up 1 year.)
SAN FRANCISCO. -- The Nation's four major auto producers said they can build smog control devices into most new cars sold in California beginning with 1966 models.
For the car producers, the announcement represents a 1-year speedup of previous plans. For California's Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board it means a "tremendous achievement in smog control."
But for the producers of four devices for controlling automotive exhaust fumes the announcement signals the disappearance of a potential market estimated at $40 million a year for service stations and control producers.
ACCELERATED RESEARCH CREDITED
In separate presentations to the California board, vice presidents of General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co., Chrysler Corp. and American Motors Corp. credited accelerated research for the development of the systems. Each system entails basic engine modifications, unlike the attachment devices developed by the other manufacturers.
The auto men declined to estimate the extra cost to the buyer for the control system, except to say they will run less than the $80 to $100 quoted for the independents’ installed devices. Some auto engineers have indicated the price would be about $25. California's new car market currently stands at well over 500,000 cars annually.
If approved after testing by the State agency, the systems would be installed initially only in cars for sale in California, under the State's law requiring such controls by the 1966-model year.
But pressure is mounting in other States, too, such as New York and New Jersey, for similar auto exhaust controls. The auto men indicated the systems could be extended in the future to their entire production runs after results from California are available.
The auto men made their announcements at a crowded meeting of the pollution board, called to review progress in the effort to control smog-creating auto fumes. The problem is to burn fuel more thoroughly than is done by present engines.
Harry F. Barr, GM vice president, said the company's system involves the injection of air directly into the exhaust port close to the exhaust valves, along with the engine design modifications. The required air flow, he said, is supplied by an engine-driven pump and is directed to impinge upon the hot exhaust valve by injecting air at this point. Mr. Barr said that the air mixes with the hot exhaust gases as they discharge from the engine cylinders, and oxidizes unburned hydrocarbon and carbon monoxide into carbon dioxide and water vapor.
A CLEANER AIR PACKAGE
Herbert L. Misch, Ford vice president, and R. H. Isbrandt, American Motors vice president, said their systems worked in a similar fashion. P. C. Ackerman, Chrysler vice president, said his company's cleaner air package involves modified engine design to prevent the formation of excessive hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.
Only American Motors told the board that its system would be ready on all 1966 models. General Motors and Chrysler asked for exemptions on some low-volume cars, representing about 4 percent of their California sales, until 1967 models, while Ford sought exemptions on a yet undetermined number of low-volume cars.
The board will conduct extensive tests on the systems, expected to take several months, as well as decide after study whether to permit sale of the exemptions without control devices.
Representatives of the manufacturers which had their exhaust devices approved only 2 months ago were present at the meeting to report that they could meet production demands for the 1966 model cars. They are American Machine & Foundry Co., jointly with Chromalloy Corp.; Arvin Industries, Inc., and Universal Oil Products Co.; W. R. Grace & Co., and Norris-Thermador Corp.; and Walker Manufacturing Co., a subsidiary of Kern County Land Co., and American Cyanamid Co.
After the meeting, Charles E. Fisher, vice president and general manager of the air pollution control division for Norris-Thermador Corp., acknowledged that the independent manufacturers of the devices appeared all but shut out of the hefty new-car market. "But the handwriting was on the wall," he said resignedly.
Mr. Fisher estimated that the four manufacturers had spent about $10 million researching exhaust control devices since 1954 when, he noted, auto makers "were not aggressively involved." He credited the independent research with spurring the auto industry into accelerated programs.
In the exemptions sought by the auto makers, he said, the 4 percent or so of cars represented by this wouldn't make device production feasible. "We've figured about 100,000 devices for the break-even point," he said. He added that foreign car sales made up such a relatively small part of the California market that research wasn't geared to these vehicles.
The independents still could go after the older car market.
Last June, the pollution board approved one device, developed by American Machine Chromalloy, for used cars dating back to 1962. A second device, however must be approved before they will be required for used cars. The used-car market in California will total about 10 million by 1967, when such devices will probably be mandatory, the board estimates.
Mr. Fisher said that "all of us will have to take a close look at business in this field and determine whether the added amounts for research will be justified. We have to have a reasonable prospect for some return."
Spokesmen for the Norris-Thermador-Grace team and Arvin Industries-Universal oil indicated they may move ahead in development of an exhaust device for used cars. Walker Cyanamid has already submitted a proposal for a used-car device, but the board has ruled that the $100-to-$150-installed cost is too high. The American Machine-Chromalloy combine estimates its device, which has been approved, will cost the consumer an estimated $81.50, including installation. The combine, however, said it is working to lower costs to $65.
Some 70 percent of a car's fumes is emitted through the exhaust, the other 30 percent through the crankcase. Auto makers began voluntarily in 1961 installing crankcase devices on their cars. These devices became mandatory in California on all new cars with the 1963 model year and on all used cars in a 13-county area.
William Nissen, the pollution control board chairman, said that with combined crankcase devices and exhaust systems, some 90 percent of "smog-forming hydrocarbons" from autos would be controlled. This is expected to ease smog conditions in urban areas, but it won't eliminate the problem altogether. Smog also is caused by other irritants.