EPA restricts sulfur in gasoline to help cut auto emissions

LA Times ^ | 3/3/2014 | Neela Banerjee

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The Environmental Protection Agency issued final rules Monday to slash the amount of sulfur in gasoline, which would help cut smog-causing pollution from autos and bring the rest of the country's fuel supply in line with California's standards.

The new rule for "Tier 3" gasoline calls for reducing the amount of sulfur in fuel by two-thirds, to 10 parts per million from 30 parts per million. Similar low-sulfur gasoline is already in use in California, Europe, Japan and South Korea.

The new gasoline would be available at the pump by January 2017.

Cutting sulfur improves the efficiency of catalytic converters in automobiles, which helps remove other pollutants that dirty the air and damage public health. The EPA said once the new rule was fully in place, it could "help avoid up to 2,000 premature deaths per year and 50,000 cases of respiratory ailments in children."

"These standards are a win for public health, a win for our environment and a win for our pocketbooks," said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-epa-gasoline-20140304,0,572496.story#ixzz2v1MhBhvY

[TurboZamboni]

“Somehow, “we have to figure out how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in Europe.” -Steven Chu, US energy secretary January 21, 2009 – April 22, 2013