Transport / Road
Trucking

Rollback of truck standards is bad news for fuel efficiency and air quality

Burgess COMMENTARY

Peter Burgess

Gmail Peter Burgess Rollback of truck standards is bad news for fuel efficiency and air quality

ACEEE News Thu, Oct 26, 2017 at 12:37 PM Reply-To: aceeenews@aceee.org

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BLOG POST Rollback of truck standards is bad news for fuel efficiency and air quality

By Siddiq Khan, Senior Researcher The Environmental Protection Agency is taking the first of possibly several steps that could set back fuel efficiency for heavy-duty trucks, increase air pollution, and create market uncertainty for the trucking industry. At issue is the second phase of greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) standards for heavy-duty trucks, adopted in 2016. These standards are estimated to save 800,000 barrels of oil per day by 2040, thereby reducing fleet operating costs and hence the cost of goods.

Within the past week, the Office of Management and Budget received an EPA proposed rule to repeal emissions requirements for 'glider vehicles'. A glider vehicle is a tractor chassis with frame, axle, cab, and brakes that becomes a highway truck when engine and transmission salvaged from earlier model years are installed. Repealing the glider provisions would allow trucking companies---contrary to Phase 2 of emissions standards---to install an older, outdated, high-emitting engine into a new truck body and avoid regulations that would apply to an entirely new truck.

This provision is especially damaging for air quality, since most glider manufacturers use remanufactured diesel engines from 2001 or earlier, which emit 20-40 times as much nitrogen oxide and particulate matter as today's new diesel engines. Exposure to particulates can affect both our lungs and our hearts, while nitrogen oxide exposure could lead to development of asthma and increase respiratory infections...

To continue reading the blog post, visit: http://aceee.org/blog/2017/10/rollback-truck-standards-bad-news

About ACEEE: The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy acts as a catalyst to advance energy efficiency policies, programs, technologies, investments, and behaviors. For information about ACEEE and its programs, publications, and conferences, visit aceee.org

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