The Environment Ministry on Tuesday decided to introduce new regulations to tighten regulations on diesel vehicle exhaust fumes from 2009, with the aim of significantly lowering nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions, sources said.
TOKYO — The Environment Ministry on Tuesday decided to introduce new regulations to tighten regulations on diesel vehicle exhaust fumes from 2009, with the aim of significantly lowering nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) emissions, sources said.
Although the ministry already plans to implement what it calls the world's strictest emissions regulations in October, the new regulations are meant to further cut emissions of NOx, a major cause of air pollution, and PM, which is carcinogenic.
The new regulations are expected to cut emissions by 50 percent more than the regulations to be implemented in October. The ministry intends to accelerate efforts to lower levels of NOx and PM in the air to meet the government's environmental standards, the sources said.
The 2009 measures, to be introduced nationwide, will target new diesel-powered vehicles. Vehicles that fail to meet the regulations will be barred from sale.
Under the new regulations, which apply to trucks and buses over 3.5 tons, emissions of NOx are to be lowered to 0.7 grams per kilowatt hour of operation. PM emissions are expected to be cut to 0.01 gram per kilowatt hour, a level that is virtually zero. Compared with pre-regulation levels, emissions of NOx and PM are expected to be lowered by 96 percent and 99 percent respectively. Emissions of NOx and PM in 2015 are forecast to be cut to one-third and one-fifteenth of their 2000 levels.
The ministry also has set a target to further cut NOx emissions to one-third of the 0.7-gram per kilowatt hour level, taking into account future technological innovations.
The government has obtained Cabinet approval of a plan to make NOx and PM levels in the air meet environmental standards by March 2011.
Seventy-four percent of sites measuring exhaust fumes along main roads in the Tokyo metropolitan area met NOx regulations, while only 37 percent of such sites met requirements for PM.
In Europe, regulatory measures to lower the PM level to 0.03 grams were implemented this year, while the United States plans to introduce measures to cut PM levels to 0.013 grams from 2007.
Laws to control emissions of NOx and PM by regulating the registration of diesel-powered vehicles have been enacted in the Tokyo metropolitan area and Osaka and Hyogo prefectures as well as in Aichi and Mie prefectures.
Tokyo, three other prefectures in the metropolitan area and Hyogo Prefecture also have introduced ordinances banning vehicles that do not meet certain emission requirements.
Source: Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News
