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DOE PLAN WOULD ADD 37 MILLION VEHICLES
TO THE ROAD
October 12, 1999
Washington, D.C. - The American Lung Association today hailed a
letter from state and local clean-air regulators that urges
President Clinton to stand firm on an administration proposal to
remove most of the sulfur from gasoline.
The letter, from the State and Territorial Air Pollution Program
Administrators/ Association of Local Air Pollution Control Officials
(STAPPA/ALAPCO), blasts a proposal by the U.S. Department of Energy
(DOE) to delay the proposed sulfur phase-down by three years.
"During that three-year period, our nation would forfeit more
than 550,000 tons of nitrogen oxide (NOx) reductions," said the
letter. "On a nationwide basis, this would be equivalent to adding
as many as 37 million vehicles to our roads. We find this
unacceptable."
Ernest P. Franck, President of the American Lung Association,
explained that sulfur is a gasoline contaminant that impedes the
performance of catalytic converters, thus leading to more pollution.
"The plan proposed last May by President Clinton would reduce
current gasoline sulfur levels by about 90 percent starting in 2004.
That would lead to cleaner cars and sport utility vehicles, less
pollution, and better lung health for all of us," Franck said. "By
contrast, the DOE delay would mean more pollution, which could
result in more asthma attacks and more breathing problems for
millions of Americans."
The STAPPA/ALAPCO letter also says DOE overstated the costs of
cleaning up sulfur and misstated reasons for recent price volatility
in California, which already has low-sulfur gasoline.
"Perhaps most puzzling of all to us, is that even the petroleum
industry has not recommended the kind of regression that DOE is
suggesting," the letter notes.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is expected to issue
final gasoline sulfur rules by the end of the year in conjunction
with new tailpipe standards for cars and sport utility vehicles.
"We hope EPA will stay the course and ignore DOE's misguided
proposal for a delay," said ALA's Franck.
A copy of the letter is available on the STAPPA/ALAPCO website.
The American Lung Association® has been fighting
lung disease for more than 90 years. With the generous support of
the public and the help of our volunteers, we have seen many
advances against lung disease. However, our work is not finished. As
we look forward to our second century, we will continue to strive to
make breathing easier for everyone. Along with our medical section,
the American Thoracic Society, we provide programs of education,
community service, advocacy and research. The American Lung
Association's activities are supported by donations to Christmas
Seals® and other voluntary contributions. You may obtain additional
information via our America Online site, keyword: ALA, or our web
site at http://www.lungusa.org.
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