Hi Folks…

According to the statistics we have available, the average ‘car park’ in South Africa is some 14 years old.  Can you imagine what pollutants emerge from some of those older vehicles! While I don’t suppose we would be able to attribute exactly what that percentage is, we can well imagine that it has to be worse than that in Canada. South Africa apparently generates some 9 tonnes of CO2 emissions per person annually, a bit short on some targets which are in the region of 2.8.

A “snap shot” of North America will give us an idea on how significant this is. The majority of vehicle pollution is produced by a small number of older or "badly-tuned" cars and trucks, according to a study by researchers at the University of Toronto in Canada.

The study measured the emissions of 100,000 vehicles as they drove past air-sampling probes of the university's main laboratory on College Street, a major roadway in Toronto.

According to the findings, 25 percent vehicles on the road produced 95 percent of black carbon (or "soot"), 93 percent of carbon monoxide, and 76 percent of volatile organic compounds such as benzene, ethyl benzene, toluene, and xylenes, some of which are known carcinogens.

"As we looked at the exhaust coming out of individual vehicles, we saw so many variations. How you drive, hard acceleration, age of the vehicle, how the car is maintained – these are things we can influence that can all have an effect on pollution," said study author Greg Evans.

The findings were published in the March edition of the journal Atmospheric Measurement Techniques.

If ever there was reason to ensure  that we maintain our vehicles properly ( safety aside)  this would be one – we are looking after, not only our lives but the quality  of such as well.

Till next time - Drive safe, and give your vehicle some TLC.

Eugene Herbert