Copyright 1999 Boston Herald Inc.
The Boston Herald
November 10, 1999 Wednesday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: NEWS; Pg. 026
LENGTH: 482 words
HEADLINE:
Tougher standards on SUV emissions get airing at hearing
BYLINE: By DAVID WEBER
BODY:
The commonwealth of Massachusetts moved one step closer to adopting
stringent clean-air regulations that could hike the price of
sport-utility vehicles and some light trucks.
At a public hearing
yesterday, officials from the Department of Environmental Protection heard
witnesses testify about health hazards from SUVs, the sales of which have
dramatically increased in recent years.
SUVs and light trucks now
account for 49 percent of new auto sales while polluting four times as a much as
regular cars manufactured under the tougher standards. Christine Kirby of the
DEP said the state intends to adopt the so-called California standards for
cleaner-burning car engines. The standards, first enacted in California and
adopted by Massachusetts in 1990 for passenger vehicles other than SUVs and
light trucks, are the toughest in the nation.
Pending approval by the
secretary of state and the signature of the governor, who already has pledged
his support, the new regulations could be adopted by January.
They would take effect in 2004.
John Caboniss, a spokesman for the
Association of International Automobile Manufacturers, said the auto industry
opposes the adoption of the California standards in Massachusetts because it
poses problems for auto dealers who often trade vehicles with dealers in
neighboring states.
None of the neighboring New England states nor New
York would have SUVs built to the California standards.
Caboniss
predicted the tougher emissions rules would add $ 100 to $ 200 to the consumer
cost of a new SUV or light truck.
Dr. James M. Kenny, spokesman for the
American Lung Association, said the elderly and sufferers of asthma and other
respiratory diseases are especially susceptible to sickness and death from auto
emissions.
"A poet once said, 'Like a burnt candle in an ancient place,
such is the beauty of an aged face.' We must not let emissions blow out that
candle," Kenny said.
He said children also are affected by emissions
because they are outdoors more and breathe more rapidly because they are more
active.
He said asthma accounts for one-third of school absenteeism
nationally, adding, "You can't teach an empty desk."
Caboniss and fellow
auto industry spokesman Robert Babik said they are not opposed to
cleaner-burning cars, but would prefer that Massachusetts adopt the federal
Environmental Protection Agency so-called "Tier 2" regulations,
which are slightly less stringent, but provide uniformity with most other
states.
Caboniss and Babik also said gasoline producers
should be blamed for much of the pollution problem because they are still
selling fuel with high levels of sulfur.
Michelle
Robinson of the Cambridge-based Union of Concerned Scientists, which supports
adopting the California standards, agreed that high-sulfur
gasoline is a leading cause of pollution.
"We support
low-sulfur fuel programs," Robinson.
LOAD-DATE: November 10, 1999 
