Emission Testing
Elizabeth Reel
Environmental Science SCI204 Section G
Spring 2007 A
Janice Webster
Subject: Emission Testing
April 22, 2007
Introduction With this paper I hope to gain a better understanding of emission pollution and the emission testing process. With my research and my visit to the local Clean Air Car Check site, I have compiled information that will prove valuable. I will define emission pollution and the major contributors. I will answer the why we have to emission test. I will also take you through the testing process. My overall goal of this paper is to ascertain whether or not emission testing is an effective way to reduce or prevent emission pollution when one owns a vehicle.
Emission Pollution Emissions describe the gases and particles that are released into the air by many different sources, including vehicles. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) web site, the sources of emissions are put into four categories: point, mobile, biogenic, and area. Point sources include factories, mobile sources include vehicles, biogenic sources include gas seeps, and area sources include dry cleaners (EPA, 2006). For this paper, we will focus on mobile sources. Driving is the most polluting thing that we can do. The National Safety Council (NSC) states that motor vehicles release millions of tons of pollutants, classified as toxics, into the air each year. These toxics cause around 1,500 cases of cancer every year. Car emissions also contribute to acid rain and global warming (NSC, 2006). Vehicles emanate three major pollutants: hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. The Coalition for Clean Air (CCA) web site states that hydrocarbons are defined as compounds containing various combinations of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Nitrogen Oxides pertain to compounds of nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide, and other oxides of nitrogen. They are typically created during combustion processes, and are major contributors to smog
Environmental Science SCI204 Section G
Spring 2007 A
Janice Webster
Subject: Emission Testing
April 22, 2007
Introduction With this paper I hope to gain a better understanding of emission pollution and the emission testing process. With my research and my visit to the local Clean Air Car Check site, I have compiled information that will prove valuable. I will define emission pollution and the major contributors. I will answer the why we have to emission test. I will also take you through the testing process. My overall goal of this paper is to ascertain whether or not emission testing is an effective way to reduce or prevent emission pollution when one owns a vehicle.
Emission Pollution Emissions describe the gases and particles that are released into the air by many different sources, including vehicles. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) web site, the sources of emissions are put into four categories: point, mobile, biogenic, and area. Point sources include factories, mobile sources include vehicles, biogenic sources include gas seeps, and area sources include dry cleaners (EPA, 2006). For this paper, we will focus on mobile sources. Driving is the most polluting thing that we can do. The National Safety Council (NSC) states that motor vehicles release millions of tons of pollutants, classified as toxics, into the air each year. These toxics cause around 1,500 cases of cancer every year. Car emissions also contribute to acid rain and global warming (NSC, 2006). Vehicles emanate three major pollutants: hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and carbon monoxide. The Coalition for Clean Air (CCA) web site states that hydrocarbons are defined as compounds containing various combinations of hydrogen and carbon atoms. Nitrogen Oxides pertain to compounds of nitric acid, nitrogen dioxide, and other oxides of nitrogen. They are typically created during combustion processes, and are major contributors to smog
References: Clean Air Car Check. (n.d.). About emission testing. Retrieved March 18, 2007, from http://www.cleanaircarcheck.com/emissions.htm Coalition for Clean Air. (2007). Air pollution. Retrieved March 18, 2007, from http://www.coalitionforcleanair.org/air-pollution-glossary.html National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. (2000). Chemicals, the environment, and you. Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih2/chemicals/other/glossary/glossary1.htm National Safety Council. (2006, March). What you can do about car emissions. Retrieved March 19, 2007, from http://www.nsc.org/ehc/mobile/mse_fs.htm U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. (2006, October). Air pollution emissions overview. Retrieved March 20, 2007, from http://www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/emissns.html