State of California
AIR RESOURCES BOARD
Resources Building
Room 1131
1416 Ninth Street
Sacramento, CA
August 27, 1975
9:00 a.m.
AGENDA
Page
75-15-1 Approval of Minutes of July 15, 1975 Meeting.
75-15-2 Status Report on Technology to Control Sulfate 1
Emissions from Catalyst-Equipped Vehicles.
75-15-3 Discussion of Safety Requirements for 13
Certification of 1976 Catalytic Vehicles.
75-15-4 Discussion of Anticipated Changes to the 1976 20
and Subsequent Model-Year Assembly-Line Test
Procedures.
75-15-5 Reassessment of the Emission Surveillance 25
Program for In-Use Vehicles.
75-15-6 Other Business - 40
a. Executive Session - Personnel & Litigation
b. Board Member Reports and Assignments
75-15-7 Remarks from Audience.
ITEM NO.: 75-15-2
Progress Report on Technology to Control Sulfate Emissions from
Catalyst-Equipped Vehicles.
RECOMMENDATION
None. Informational Item.
SUMMARY
Vehicle manufacturers, petroleum companies, catalyst suppliers
and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are still actively
involved in developing technology to reduce the emission of
sulfates from oxidation catalyst-equipped vehicles. However,
there has been no new development nor dramatic breakthrough to
report since the March 1975 meetings.
Concurrent with these developments, investigations are being made
to assess whether a hazard to health and property will exist as
the population of catalyst-equipped vehicles increases. The EPA
is now undergoing an accelerated test program to develop a test
procedure and establish a vehicle sulfate emission standard.
Notice of Proposed Rule Making is expected to be published in the
Federal Register in November 1975.
This report limits discussions to development of systems and test
procedures for controlling sulfate emissions.
ITEM NO.: 75-15-3
Discussion of Safety Requirements for Certification of 1976
California Vehicles.
RECOMMENDATION
None. Discussion Item.
SUMMARY
Recent adverse publicity regarding the safety of catalytic
converter systems has prompted the staff to investigate if safety
hazards do exist. In order not to delay the approval of 1976
model-year catalyst equipped vehicles, the staff has granted
limited approval to those manufacturers who employ a catalytic
system. If a safety problem does exist, approvals for the
remainder of the model year will require the manufacturer to take
steps to mitigate the problem. The staff scheduled a workshop
with a few selected manufacturers to determine the magnitude of
the problem. Data presented by all the manufacturers except one
tend to indicate a very low catalyst failure rate.
This report summarizes the staff action to date.
ITEM NO.: 75-15-4
Anticipated Changes to the 1976 and Subsequent Model Year
Assembly Line Test Procedures.
RECOMMENDATION
None. Discussion Item.
SUMMARY
Recent experience with 1975 production vehicles has prompted a
reevaluation of the assembly line test regulations.
This report addresses some of the changes contemplated for the
1976 and subsequent model year.
ITEM NO.: 75-15-5
Reassessment of the Emission Surveillance Program for In-Use
Vehicles.
RECOMMENDATION
None. Discussion Item.
SUMMARY
The Air Resources Board (ARB) has had a vehicle emission
surveillance program to determine the effectiveness of exhaust
emission systems since 1965. The data from this program were
primarily used to set vehicle emission standards and to assess
the effectiveness of emission control systems and strategies.
The use of these data have since broadened and diversified. They
are now also used for the State Implementation Plan, modeling and
other inputs. Consequently it is necessary for the ARB to
reassess this program to meet all the needs.
This reassessment examines the current hot-start 7-mode test
versus a hot-start CVS and the cold-start CVS-75 test procedures
in the context of setting standard, evaluating effectiveness of
emission control programs, and establishing emission factors for
inventory. Areas of expansion and new emphasis on surveillance
are also discussed. These include catalytic vehicles, heavy-duty
vehicles, evaporative control systems, motorcycles, and gaseous-fuel
vehicles.
The following major recommendations are presented:
(1) Replace the hot-start 7-mode with a hot-start CVS test
method.
(2) Obtain a large data base of in-use vehicle emissions by
the cold-start CVS-75 test procedure.
(3) Emphasize surveillance of heavy-duty vehicles,
evaporative emission systems, motorcycles, and gaseous-powered
vehicles.
The report of this assessment is attached for review by the
Board.