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{"source_url": "https://www.heraldnet.com", "url": "https://www.heraldnet.com/news/starting-today-vehicle-emissions-testing-is-history/", "title": "Starting today, vehicle emissions testing is history", "top_image": "https://www.heraldnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19969378_web1_TSR-Tailpipe-EDH-181126.jpg", "meta_img": "https://www.heraldnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19969378_web1_TSR-Tailpipe-EDH-181126.jpg", "images": ["https://2qibqm39xjt6q46gf1rwo2g1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19887179_web1_TSR-Julcol-LuLuDog-EDH-191229.jpg", "https://2qibqm39xjt6q46gf1rwo2g1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19969378_web1_M2-Emissions-Testing-edh-191231.jpg", "https://2qibqm39xjt6q46gf1rwo2g1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19912643_web1_TSR-EverettTransit-EDH-180817.jpg", "https://www.heraldnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19969378_web1_TSR-Tailpipe-EDH-181126.jpg", "https://2qibqm39xjt6q46gf1rwo2g1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/plugins/lazy-load/images/1x1.trans.gif", "https://2qibqm39xjt6q46gf1rwo2g1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19969378_web1_M-Tailpipe-EDH-181126-1024x802.jpg", "https://2qibqm39xjt6q46gf1rwo2g1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19934349_web1_TSR-Possession-Sound-mountain-EDH-191228.jpg", "https://2qibqm39xjt6q46gf1rwo2g1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19874788_web1_TSR-Erin-Monroe-EDH-191231.jpg", "https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=869459273124027&ev=PageView&noscript=1", "https://2qibqm39xjt6q46gf1rwo2g1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19969378_web1_TSR-Tailpipe-EDH-181126.jpg"], "movies": [], "text": "No more fretting about your beater. Air quality reached federal goals and is expected to improve.\n\nThis chart shows the average concentration of particulate levels measured at several testing sites in the Salish Sea in 2013. (United States Environmental Protection Agency)\n\nEVERETT \u2014 The dread of driving a clunker to an emissions test \u2014 and maybe facing an expensive fix \u2014 is over.\n\nAfter 38 years, Tuesday is the final day vehicles must be analyzed for carbon monoxide spewing from the exhaust pipe. The $15 tests were required in regions covering most of Clark, King, Pierce, Snohomish and Spokane counties. Failing a test meant getting exhaust system repairs, although that requirement was waived if the cost exceeded $150.\n\nStricter emission standards for new cars and trucks, enacted by the Legislature, took effect in 2008. Vehicles newer than the 2009 model year were excluded from testing, as were vehicles older than 25 years. The law created an ever-shrinking number of vehicles that were required to be tested.\n\nAt the height of Washington\u2019s testing program in 2011, nearly 1.3 million vehicles got emissions checks. In 2017, just 12% of all licensed vehicles in the state were checked. Last year, about 750,000 tests were conducted.\n\n\u201cWhen we began the emission check program back in 1982, air pollution from carbon monoxide and ozone was a serious concern in many of our biggest cities,\u201d said Kathy Taylor, manager of the Washington Department of Ecology air quality program, in a news release. \u201cToday, new cars are much, much cleaner than in decades past, which means we can continue to improve our state\u2019s air quality without these regular tests.\u201d\n\nGiven the trend of cleaner engines and stricter emission requirements for new vehicles, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency became convinced that air quality was not likely to deteriorate. Washington will continue monitoring air quality and must prove it will improve without emissions testing.\n\n\u201cIf we see consistent high levels of air pollution, we are required under both the state and federal clean air acts to come up with a plan to reduce pollution and protect air quality,\u201d said Andrew Wineke, a spokesman for the state Department of Ecology\u2019s air quality program.\n\nThe end of emissions testing also means the end of a niche industry in Washington. About 180 people work for Applus, which operated testing stations, including in Everett, Marysville and Lynnwood. Another dozen Ecology employees will be affected by the program closing. The company and the state office worked with those employees to prepare for the shutdown.\n\nWhen the EPA enacted air quality standards, it was to improve human health. Fine particulates, such as from forest fires, fossil fuel combustion or tree pollen, can aggravate respiratory and cardiovascular disease, reduce lung function and might be linked to lung cancer, according to the EPA.\n\n\u201cWhen we started the emission check program, parts of our state were threatened by high levels of carbon monoxide, ozone and particulate pollution \u2014 with levels sometimes above federal standards,\u201d Wineke said. \u201cToday, every part of Washington meets federal air quality standards.\u201d\n\nWashington\u2019s emissions testing program started in 1982 with six test sites in King and Snohomish counties.\n\nEmissions tests for vehicles in Washington state are no longer required. (Chuck Taylor / Herald file)\n\nIn 1980, the EPA\u2019s air quality index included 11 days that were deemed unhealthy for sensitive groups and four days of air unhealthy for the whole population.\n\nTo date this year, Snohomish County has had 233 good days, 39 days with moderate air quality, one unhealthy day for sensitive groups and no generally unhealthy or very unhealthy days. The remaining days had particulate levels too small to measure.\n\nA 1990 federal clean air law made emissions testing mandatory and resulted in the addition of testing facilities in 1993 for urbanized areas that weren\u2019t meeting standards.\n\nStarting in 2002, technicians plugged into a computer\u2019s on-board diagnostics port to get a reading for most cars. That led to issues with Volkswagen vehicles equipped with 2- and 3-liter diesel engines that had emission-cheating devices which violated federal and state Clean Air Acts.\n\nThe settlement with the German auto company helped pay for electric buses in the Mukilteo, Snohomish and Stanwood-Camano school districts, and Everett Transit.\n\nWashington\u2019s climate won\u2019t be affected much by the end of emissions testing. The program\u2019s aim was to reduce toxics in the form of pollution like carbon monoxide, whereas carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are the primary drivers of climate change.\n\n\u201cVehicles are still the largest source of carbon pollution in Washington \u2014 accounting for about 45% of our total emissions,\u201d Wineke said.\n\nBen Watanabe: bwatanabe@heraldnet.com; 425-339-3037; Twitter @benwatanabe.\n\nGallery", "keywords": [], "meta_keywords": [""], "tags": ["Letters", "Julie Muhlstein", "Jerry Cornfield (politics)", "Way to Go", "Go-See-Do", "Aviation and Space", "Street Smarts", "High School Sports", "Super Kid", "What\u2019s Up With That?", "In Our View", "Seattle Sidelines Blog", "Silvertips", "Photography", "Editorial Cartoons"], "authors": ["Ben Watanabe"], "publish_date": "Tue Dec 31 01:30:00 2019", "summary": "", "article_html": "", "meta_description": "No more fretting about your beater. Air quality reached federal goals and is expected to improve.", "meta_lang": "en", "meta_favicon": "https://2qibqm39xjt6q46gf1rwo2g1-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/themes/SoundPress/assets/images/icons/favicon.ico", "meta_data": {"viewport": "width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0", "gpsid": 19969378, "description": "No more fretting about your beater. Air quality reached federal goals and is expected to improve.", "news_keywords": "street smarts, headlines", "original-source": "https://www.heraldnet.com/news/starting-today-vehicle-emissions-testing-is-history/", "og": {"locale": "en_US", "type": "article", "title": "Starting today, vehicle emissions testing is history | HeraldNet.com", "description": "No more fretting about your beater. Air quality reached federal goals and is expected to improve.", "site_name": "HeraldNet.com", "image": {"identifier": "https://www.heraldnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19969378_web1_TSR-Tailpipe-EDH-181126.jpg", "secure_url": "https://www.heraldnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19969378_web1_TSR-Tailpipe-EDH-181126.jpg", "width": 1302, "height": 868}}, "article": {"publisher": "https://www.facebook.com/HeraldNet", "tag": "Street Smarts", "section": "Local News", "published_time": "2019-12-31T01:30:00-08:00"}, "fb": {"app_id": 1458930781088413, "pages": 192189680463}, "twitter": {"card": "summary_large_image", "description": "No more fretting about your beater. Air quality reached federal goals and is expected to improve.", "title": "Starting today, vehicle emissions testing is history | HeraldNet.com", "site": "@everettherald", "image": "https://www.heraldnet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/19969378_web1_TSR-Tailpipe-EDH-181126.jpg", "creator": "@benwatanabe"}, "ia": {"markup_url": "https://www.heraldnet.com/news/starting-today-vehicle-emissions-testing-is-history/?ia_markup=1"}}, "canonical_link": ""} |
