Emissions Standards: Part 1

Maybe you’ve heard the buzz. New emissions standards are coming for drivers and truck fleets. You might hear the word urea circulating. A lot of questions are being raised about what truckers, towers, and haulers are going to have to do. This group of newsletter articles is designed to begin separating the myths from the truths as we move headfirst (at high speed) into a greener more pollution free economy.

To be totally fair to both the government and the transportation industry I would like to take a brief look to what the goals are of the new standards and why. Summarizing from a Waste Age Magazine segment:

Truck Manufacturers must produce a product that reduces pollutants from their vehicles starting on post 2010 new trucks.
Truck Manufacturers are using one of 2 technologies to do this, Selective catalytic reduction (SCR) or exhaust gas recirculation.
Most will use the catalytic reduction system requiring the periodic filling of a separate truck tank with a Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) made primarily of the compound Urea. This compound will bond with pollutants and reduce exhaust.
The new standards are designed to reduce costs by improving fuel economy in heavy trucks.
There is controversy over how much the Diesel Exhaust Fluid(DEF)  is going to cost at the pump.
Another question is whether urea will react poorly to extremely cold temperatures and freeze in the special DEF tank.

There is a lot more to be said about this. The links to the original article are on our towing, autohauling, and trucker blogs and you can access it there. To link to the blogs click here.

Towedover.blogspot.com for Towers or Autohauling.blogspot.com for Carhaulers

Kilcarr, Sean. “Revving Up.”wasteage.com. January 1, 2009.

Emissions Standard Exceptions

Does anyone want to be exempt from the emissions standards? You do have a legal option. Any truck made before 2010, whether it is new or not, is exempt from the SCR standards, the need for a DEF tank, and the joy of pouring urea into their vehicle. Just email masks@ectts.com or call 757-465-2200