The Cost of Reducing Emissions from Late-Model High-Emitting Vehicles Detected Via Remote Sensing

Abstract

In August 1990, Amoco Oil Company participated with the Denver University (DU) Remote Sensing Institute in a series of experiments related to remote sensing of motor vehicle exhaust emissions. The main purpose of the experiments was to test the ability of a DU remote-sensor to identify late-model, high-emitting vehicles and to determine the extent of repair necessary to fix the vehicles. During four days of testing, we accomplished over 2,800 remote-sensing measurements. From those measurements, we identified ten late-model, high-emitting vehicles for inclusion in a test-and-repair program. Nine of the ten vehicles, one of which was still under emissions control warranty, exceeded 50,000-mile certification limits for regulated emissions as measured by the Federal Test Procedure (FTP). Three of those nine vehicles, including one which could not be fixed, hailed from areas subject to the Illinois state inspection-and- maintenance (I/M) program. The causes of the associated emissions systems failures ranged from the need for a minor tune-up to blatant tampering. The results of this study indicate that the repair of high-emitting vehicles identified via remote-sensing constitutes a viable, cost-effective means of reducing certain types of vehicle emissions.