Vehicles remain a major source of pollution: CSE

Tribune News Service 

New Delhi, May 5

Calling the campaign claiming that vehicles are an insignificant source of pollution as “misleading and motivated”, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) today lashed out the auto industry. It said that vehicles require stringent action as they emit the deadliest of toxins. 

“Cars emit more Particulate Matter (PM) 2.5 than several other key pollution sources in Delhi,” the CSE said while noting that the Kanpur IIT study states that vehicles are the most consistent source of pollution throughout the year while most others are variable - control on consistent sources are important to achieve cleaner air throughout the year. 

However, the auto industry has resorted to a number game and taken a reductionist view of IIT Kanpur’s emissions inventory estimates, it stressed. 

Observing that the auto industry is underplaying the toxic and cancer effects of diesel emissions as well, CSE director general Sunita Narain said an IIT Kanpur study has established diesel cars on an average contribute 78 per cent of PM 2.5 from four wheelers. 

“This is significantly much higher than the contribution of petrol and CNG cars. Cancer effect occurs at very small doses. According to California Air Resources Board, the number of excess cancer cases per million people due to lifetime exposure to only 1 microgramme per cum of diesel particulate is 300 as against 29 for benzene that comes predominantly from petrol. The cancer potency of diesel particulate matter is 10 times more than benzene. Even after improving emission standards in California, cancer risk from diesel particulate matter in Los Angeles is 68 per cent,” the CSE stated. 

Further, cars according to IIT Kanpur report emit equal or more than what solid waste burning (3 per cent), hotel and restaurants (3 per ecnt), industrial area (2 per ecnt), C&D waste (2 per cent) and diesel generator sets (2 per cent) emit individually. 

Narain said apart from being a major contributor of PM2.5, cars also emit more NOx than several other key pollution sources in the city with vehicles as a whole found to be the second largest NOx contributor at 36 per cent and cars alone emitting 6.1 per cent of the total NOx from all sources. 

“This is equal to the third largest contributor of NOx which is diesel generator sets at 6 per cent. The rest including domestic sources (2 per cent), industrial areas (1 per cent), hotels and restaurants (less than 1 per cent), and medical incinerators (less than 1%), emit significantly less than cars,” maintained the CSE while asserting that Delhi cannot meet its clean air objective if stringent action is not taken on cars. 

Further, the CSE said that the Industry has 

not accounted for the vehicles contributing to secondary particulates that are quarter of PM2.5 in Delhi’s air and if contribution of vehicles to the secondary particle is accounted for the contribution 

of vehicles to PM2.5 will be much higher.