Authorities urged to enforce vehicle emission standards

Authorities urged to enforce vehicle emission standards

Urip Hudiono, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta

Notorious as the second most polluted city in the world after
Mexico City, Jakarta could have improved its air quality
significantly and protected residents' health if the city had
enforced emission standards, said an air pollution expert.

Ahmad "Puput" Safrudin from the Joint Committee for Leaded
Fuel Eradication (KPBB) said on Saturday the city would have
enjoyed 30 percent less pollution if the administration had
pushed vehicles to comply with emission standards.

He estimated a 70 percent decrease in the pollution level if
the administration adopted stricter emission standards.

"We could have seen such an improvement in a year or two if
enforcement was implemented properly."

A study by air pollution researcher Shanty MF Syahril from the
Pelangi Foundation and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) found it
was possible to halve the capital's pollution level in 10 years.

Data from the Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD
Jakarta) shows that vehicular emissions contribute more than 80
percent of the city's pollution.

Jakarta has some four million motorized vehicles on its
streets.

Long-term and continuous exposure to pollutants in emissions
-- particularly carbon monoxide (CO), hydrocarbons (HCs),
nitrogen oxides (NOx) and particulates -- can severely affect a
person's respiratory and nervous systems.

Under Traffic Law No. 14/1992, all vehicles are subject to
routine checks for roadworthiness and emission levels, the latter
of which is determined in State Minister of the Environment
Decree No. 35/1993.

The decree sets maximum emission levels for gasoline-fueled
automotive vehicles at 4.5 percent of CO and 1,200 parts per
million (ppm) of HCs, while it limits the opacity of emissions
from diesel-fueled cars at 25 percent.

Meanwhile, the State Minister of the Environment Decree No.
141/2003 stipulates all new vehicles must comply with the Euro 2
standard of a maximum 2.2 percent CO per kilometer by next
January.

In Jakarta, Gubernatorial Decree No. 1041/2000 says that cars
with injection systems cannot exceed emissions of 3 percent CO
and 600 ppm HC.

The experts lashed out at the government for its lack of
seriousness in enforcing emission standards, as it had recently
delayed a review of the national standard.

Puput suspected the delay was due to objections from various
stakeholders who would be affected by a stricter emission
standard.

"It is common knowledge that the current standards underwent
long deliberation, as the country's automotive firms were very
reluctant to accept them," he said. "Fortunately, the Office of
the State Minister of the Environment agreed to adopt the Euro 2
standard."

Puput added any emission standard revisions or adoptions would
be useless unless they were implemented and supported fully.

Meanwhile, Shanty proposed another emission test that should
be included in the amended emission standard.

"It should include checking the emission from moving vehicles
in addition to the standard test for idle vehicles," she said,
because emission was related to the velocity of a vehicle.

"Vehicular emissions are at their lowest at a maximum velocity
of 40 kilometers per hour," she said. "Data from testing for
emissions from moving vehicles is also crucial for designing the
best traffic management for the city."

Shanty, however, acknowledged that the country did not have
the proper equipment to conduct complete emission tests.