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CLEAN AIR NEWSLINE

August 2006 Edition

In this issue:

 

Drive smarter – Better gas mileage means cleaner air

High gas prices getting you down?  Even if you still need your car to get around, there are some things you can do to get better gas mileage.  In addition to the savings in your pocketbook, less fuel burned means fewer polluting tailpipe emissions as well as fewer greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.

Fueleconomy.gov points out that fixing a serious maintenance problem, such as a faulty oxygen sensor, can improve your mileage by as much as 40 percent.  And a poorly maintained or malfunctioning vehicle can release as much as 10 times the emissions of a well-maintained one, according to the National Safety Council.

So what can you do?

Reduce idling because idling wastes gasoline. Idling for longer than 30 seconds actually burns more fuel than turning off and restarting your engine.

Maintain a steady speed. Accelerate and decelerate smoothly. Use cruise control on highways. Avoid revving the engine. Stay within the legal speed limit.

Clear out the trunk. For every 50 pounds of junk you lug around, you lose about ¼ mile per gallon.

Remove the rooftop cargo carrier when you don’t need it, to decrease drag and fuel consumption.

Maintain your vehicle. Regular vehicle maintenance reduces fuel usage. Getting a diagnosis right away when the “Check Engine” light goes on reduces pollution and saves fuel.

Keep tires properly inflated to decrease drag and fuel consumption.

Stop at the click. When refueling your vehicle, stop pumping when you hear the handle on the gas nozzle “click” off. Topping off releases gas fumes into the air that contribute to ozone pollution and cancels the benefit of the pump’s anti-pollution devices.

Refuel when it’s cool during summer heat waves. Refueling your vehicle in cooler evening hours reduces the opportunity for volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, released by gasoline to turn into ozone and contribute to the formation of smog.

Replace a lost gas cap to reduce pollution by preventing fuel evaporation.

Choose a more fuel efficient vehicle. When you are shopping for a new car, choose the most fuel-efficient one that meets your needs. 

 

Agency to partner with Holland America Line on seawater scrubber study

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is proud to be collaborating with Holland America Line, the US Environmental Protection Agency and other partners on a seawater scrubber demonstration project, which has the potential to greatly reduce diesel emissions from oceangoing vessels.

The Clean Air Agency is contributing $100,000 toward this project, which represents the first ever large-scale pilot of seawater scrubber technology.

The diesel fuel typically used by cruise ships and other vessels tends to have a very high sulfur content. This technology is expected to virtually eliminate sulfur dioxide (SOx) by over 98 percent, significantly reduce particulate matter (PM) between 50 to 80 percent, and somewhat reduce nitrous oxide (NOx) by 10 percent. Heavy fuel oil is pretreated to reduce the NOx and PM formed during combustion. The engine emission enters the scrubber and the reaction between the SOx in the emission and the calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in seawater forms calcium sulfate (CaSO4) in the wastewater. Solids in the wastewater are then processed in hydro-cyclones and offloaded ashore for disposal.

"This technology has the potential to significantly -- and economically -- reduce emissions from seagoing vessels, benefiting our coasts and port communities,” says Dennis McLerran, executive director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.

What’s more, the potential air quality benefits of this project will extend beyond the Puget Sound region. The ship in this pilot project, the ms Zaandam, travels from Mexico to Alaska and Hawaii. All of the vessels’ ports -- and the waterways in between -- will share in air quality improvements.

For more information, read the Holland America Line news release at www.pscleanair.org/news/2006/EPA_Grant_8_14_06.pdf . And you can find out more about the Clean Air Agency’s Diesel Solutions program at www.dieselsolutions.org .

 

Snohomish County: Fill ‘er up with veggies

On Saturdays now through the month of September (excluding Labor Day weekend), Snohomish County drivers can fill up their diesel-engines with clean-burning, low-emission biodiesel instead.

A blend of B99, which is almost pure biodiesel, is being made available to the public at the Airport Road Recycling & Transfer Station in Everett, through a promotional pilot program offered by the Solid Waste Management Division of Snohomish County Public Works and Seaport Biofuels. The fuel is produced by Seattle Biodiesel and meets all ASTM standards for fuel quality.

Derived from renewable resources such as soybeans, mustard seeds, canola and refined waste vegetable oils, biodiesel offers significant health and air quality benefits over conventional diesel. Recent studies conducted by the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory show vehicles using pure or blended biodiesel can reduc e emissions of:

  • Toxic air pollutants such as diesel particulate matter;
  • Hydrocarbons such as volatile organic compounds, one of the ingredients for ozone (smog) formation in our region; and
  • Carbon dioxide, a pollutant that causes global climate change.

In addition, these fuels do not appear to significantly affect nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions in the Puget Sound region. As the percentage of biodiesel in the fuel mix increases, so do reductions in particulate matter, hydrocarbons, sulfur dioxide, and carbon monoxide.

Biodiesel can be used in any diesel engine with little or no modification to the engine or the fuel system.

The program is designed to give Snohomish County citizens a convenient and regularly scheduled opportunity to purchase biodiesel, and to also raise awareness about the benefits of this cleaner-burning alternative to diesel.

Where to get it:
Airport Road Recycling & Transfer Station
10700 Minuteman Drive (@Paine Field)
Everett, WA

When to get it:
Saturdays from now through the end of September (excluding Labor Day weekend)
9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

How much does it cost?
$3.149/gallon -- credit or debit cards only

For more information about the program, contact:
Deanna Carveth, Snohomish County Public Works
Tel: 425 388 6473

For more information about the air quality benefits of biodiesel, download our fact sheet: http://www.pscleanair.org/programs/dieselsolutions/fuels/biodiesel_fact_sheet.pdf

 

Monthly air quality data summary: June*

We experienced our first Smog Watch in almost two years during the period June 24 to 27.  Two monitors recorded exceedances of the ozone standard (“Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”) on June 26.   Otherwise, air quality during June was in the “Good” category for 23 days and in the “Moderate” category for six days.

Precipitation (SeaTac Airport) totaled 1.67 inches for the month which was only slightly (.18 inches) above normal.  Almost all of this rain fell in the first four days of the month.  The airport average monthly high temperature of 72.2 degrees was 2.6 degrees above normal for the month.   A maximum temperature of 90 degrees was reached on June 26.

For data summaries of air quality monitored throughout our four-county region, click to http://www.pscleanair.org/airq/reports.aspx .

* Because of the time it takes to review data for quality assurance and process data for reports, our summary discussions in each “Newsline” edition will be two month previous. Thus, our report for this edition is for June 2006.

 

About the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

The mission of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is to ensure that people in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties have clean, healthy air to breathe. Our job is to provide air quality management services on behalf of cities and counties for their citizens. We do this by adopting and enforcing air quality regulations, sponsoring voluntary initiatives to improve air quality, and educating people and businesses about clean-air choices. To learn more about our work, visit us at www.pscleanair.org.

 

About the Clean Air Newsline

Clean Air Newsline is a monthly electronic newsletter to provide air quality information to the residents of King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties. Subscribers receive the latest on air quality news, trends and projects that affect our local communities and the air we breathe. Feel free to pass the information along to others.

We also use the Newsline as needed to send timely and important messages about burn bans, Smog Watches and early calls to action when air quality deteriorates.

If you would like to subscribe, you can do so at www.pscleanair.org/news/email_list.shtml. Be sure to select Clean Air Newsline to be added to the e-mailing list.