Reduce air pollution and get your car serviced this transport month
October is marked as Transport Month and regardless of how vital the transportation sector is to our economy, the society needs to consider viable ways of transportation that does not inadvertently contributes to poor air quality through emission of harmful gases.
As motorists we have all probably experienced it – driving behind a heavily smoking vehicle. But, have you ever wondered what that emission is doing to the environment and ultimately how it affects human life, or if your vehicle is also contributing to air pollution?
The City of Ekurhuleni’s (CoE) Air Quality practitioner Bobby Marilli has encouraged owners of vehicle fleets to regularly have them tested, especially when they notice an emission of a black cloud that follows them.
“Transportation is a major source of air pollution due to vehicles’ gas emissions that are harmful to the environment. While this air pollution carries significant risks for human health and the environment, by regularly servicing our vehicles and vehicle manufacturers inventing new fuel technologies, we can significantly reduce emissions to more tolerable levels,” Marilli explained.
To assist residents in this regard, the City of Ekurhuleni’s Integrated Pollution Control (Air Quality Management) Unit in conjunction with the Gauteng Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (GDARD) conducted testing of vehicle exhaust emissions at the Boksburg Cemetery parking area on October 18 to raise awareness of how exhaust emissions also contribute to poor air quality which could be detrimental to human health and the environment.
The testing of the vehicles was conducted by using the Hartridge Smoke Unit (HSU) equipment that measures the density of smoke emitted by diesel engines from cars, trucks, ships, buses and motorcycles and determines if it exceeds the legally prescribed limit.
According to the Ekurhuleni Public Health By-laws, any diesel vehicle emission may not exceed a reading of 60 HSU for naturally aspirated diesel engines and 66 HSU for turbo-charged diesel engines, to ensure that the smoke excreted is not harmful to the environment.
City of Ekurhuleni’s Air Quality Practitioner Bobby Marilli uses the Hartridge Smoke Unit (HSU) to measure the density of the smoke emitted by the diesel-run vehicle as part of the Transport Month campaign to raise awareness of how exhaust emissions contribute to poor air quality which could be detrimental to human health and the environment.
