Eleanor Fort / The Union of Concerned Scientists – 2017-10-19 01:05:52

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ACTION ALERT: Tell Congress to Stop Dieselgate 2.0
Eleanor Fort / The Union of Concerned Scientists

(October 18, 2017) — The Volkswagen “Dieselgate” scandal that led to huge emissions of harmful diesel particulates and smog pollution could be minor compared to what is happening right now.

Congress is considering legislation that would protect the sale and use of “defeat devices,” which disable the emission control systems in our cars that remove dangerous air pollution before it goes out the tailpipe.

These devices are what VW used to cheat Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) emissions testing on diesel cars. They are also used by amateur racers to increase the performance of their cars and trucks.

It’s one thing if these modified, highly polluting vehicles are only used at racetracks, but there’s ample evidence that these devices are being illegally marketed and used on cars that are driven on our streets on a regular basis, spewing toxic pollution into our communities.

Manufacturers of these dirty devices are pushing Congress to give them free rein to sell their products, and right now, many in Congress are on board!

Vehicle exhaust is toxic, so cars and trucks used on public roads must have intact emissions control systems. The EPA estimates this protection prevents up to 2,000 premature deaths, 2,200 hospital admissions, and 19,000 asthma attacks a year.

The Union of Concerned Scientists found a settlement between the EPA and just one of the multiple manufacturers of these defeat devices and they admitted to having sold more than 100,000 devices. The pollution from the dirty defeat devices sold by this single manufacturer would equal twice the pollution from the VW Dieselgate vehicles.

How many other manufacturers are putting profit over public health? The pollution could be catastrophic, so we need to make sure we’re holding this industry accountable.

ACTION: Urge your members of Congress to block the loop hole that would allow Dieselgate 2.0!
Tell your members of Congress that you do not support the reckless use of dirty defeat devices on public roads.
Write today and tell your legislators not to pass a bill that would allow this reckless pollution to continue. Sign here

THE LETTER:
I’m writing to urge you to oppose a bill (H.R. 350/S.203) that will make it difficult for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to go after manufacturers selling dirty defeat devices.

These defeat devices allow cars to bypass their emissions control systems that protect us from breathing toxic pollution. The toxic chemicals released without emissions control systems are known to cause asthma attacks, lung cancer, cardiovascular harm, and premature death.

I realize that amateur racers use these to increase their performance on the racetrack, but we should be doing everything we can to make sure that these aren’t used on our public roads, endangering the health and safety of all of your constituents.

The pollution produced from these defeat devices is staggering — just one of these device manufacturers sold more 100,000 devices and the pollution is TWICE the pollution put out by the cheating VW diesel cars from 2008 until they were caught in 2015!

As a constituent, I want my member of Congress to make sure that I continue to have access to cleaner air. Please oppose this bill (H.R. 350/S.203) until it is fixed to ensure that manufacturers aren’t selling these devices for non-racing use.

Eleanor Fort is the Vehicles Campaign Manager for the Clean Vehicles Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists

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