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Welcome to the AirCare news release archive. The AirCare program regularly sends press releases to keep our stakeholders, the media and the public up-to-date on general AirCare information.
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AirCare Benefits Report (2007-2008)
(Nov-04-2009)
Burnaby, BC - The goal of the AirCare program has been to identify vehicles with excess emissions and require that they be repaired. Effective emission repairs reduce harmful vehicle-generated pollution and help to improve our region’s air quality. Since 1992, AirCare has proven to be a highly effective pollution reducing initiative.
On a biennial basis, the AirCare program produces a report to assess the program’s overall effectiveness. These reviews follow established scientific methodology and are fair appraisals of the program’s strengths and weaknesses.The most recent report entitled “AirCare – Results and Observations in 2007 and 2008” reviews the first two years since the introduction of On-Board Diagnostic (OBD) testing for 1998 and newer vehicles. The report concludes that AirCare continues to have a positive effect on reducing vehicle-generated emissions in this region. The following are some highlights from the 2007-2008 technical review:
Inspection Statistics – 2007
- Total number of emissions inspections: 479,604
- Total number of initial failed inspections: 58,636 (14.2%)
- Number of individual vehicles tested: 413,777
Inspection Statistics – 2008
- Total number of emissions inspections: 528,617
- Total number of initial failed inspections: 56,242 (12.0%)
- Number of individual vehicles tested: 467,546
Emission Repair
- The most common repairs involved the replacement of the oxygen sensor, catalytic converter, spark plugs, air filter and EGR valve.
- Engine mechanical defects, low-efficiency catalytic converters and defective carburetors were the items most frequently mentioned as being required but not repaired, usually due to the cost involved.
Emission Benefits
- On an impact-weighted basis, repairs related to AirCare failures reduced total light-duty vehicle-generated emissions by 7.1% in 2007 and 6.3% in 2008. A further potential 4.6% and 4.3%, respectively, resulted from a portion of the failing vehicle fleet being removed from use.
- According to the MOBILE6 model, the impact-weighted emissions attributable to light-duty vehicles decreased from 162,500 tonnes in 1990 to 57,000 tonnes in 2005 (a 65% reduction) with a projected value of 42,000 tonnes by 2010 (a 74% reduction). This is the combined effect of new vehicle technology and AirCare.
- The OBD inspection method has been successfully introduced and is showing a high rate of successful repairs. The failure rate for OBD inspections was consistently about 6% during the review period.
- On average, vehicles passing re-inspection had emissions 25%-70% lower than the initial failing result. Reductions on a percentage basis were highest (70%) for the 1992-1997 model year group, but it is necessary to factor in the absolute emission rate in order to determine which group produces the largest inventory reductions
- AirCare continues to accelerate the retirement of excess emitting vehicles. Of the 11,506 vehicles that failed in 2007 and have never appeared for a re-inspection, 81% of them were not licensed in the AirCare operating region as of August 2009.
The full report can be viewed in the News & Publications section under Reports.
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