Controlling Air Pollution from Vehicles

Motor vehicles are the largest source of three important pollutants: carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons. Because these pollutants can damage health and the environment, everyone has a stake in limiting vehicle emissions.

This website presents general information on vehicle pollution and tells how emissions associated with vehicles (vehicles are also referred to as mobile sources of pollution) are controlled in New York -- emission standards and testing, hydrocarbon vapor containment, and DEC emission control and research programs.

How Vehicle Pollution Harms the Environment and Health

Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons are released when fuel is burned in the internal combustion engine and the air/gasoline residuals are emitted through the tailpipe. Gasoline vapors also escape into the air during refueling, or when fuel vaporizes from engines and fuel systems warmed by running or by hot weather.

The compounds in vehicle emissions are known to damage lung tissue, and can lead to and aggravate respiratory diseases such as asthma. Motor vehicle pollution also contributes to the formation of acid rain and adds to greenhouse gases that cause global warming.

But the pollutants that come directly from vehicles are not the only cause for concern. On warm, sunny days, hydrocarbons react with nitrogen oxides to create a secondary pollutant, ozone. In many urban areas, motor vehicles are the single largest contributor to ground-level ozone, a common component of smog. Ozone causes coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath, and can bring on permanent lung damage, making it a cause of crucial public health problems.

Reducing Vehicle Pollution

Proper maintenance of car and truck emission control systems not only limits harmful emissions, but also can improve fuel efficiency and vehicle performance, extending the life of the vehicle. Care in storing and handling gasoline and other solvents reduces vapor losses to the air.

New York's enhanced Inspection/Maintenance (I/M) Program, a decentralized test-and-repair program implemented jointly by the New York State departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Motor Vehicles (DMV), requires repair of faulty emission systems to bring emissions within acceptable limits. The enhanced emissions testing program is an important component of New York's plan to meet federal air quality standards.