
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 25, 1994                   TAG: 9401250077
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: B-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

EPA ORDERS GAS-FUME TRAPS ON LIGHT TRUCKS, VANS

WASHINGTON - Vans, pickups and sport/utility vehicles will have to be equipped with pollution-fighting canisters that capture those fumes you smell when you fill your truck with gas.

The Environmental Protection Agency, which already has ordered the devices to be installed in new cars, extended the requirement to light trucks Monday.

Automakers have long argued the devices were expensive, dangerous and unnecessary. But environmentalists and regulators see them as the best way to stop gas fumes from escaping into the air.

EPA administrator Carol Browner said the new rule "breaks years of gridlock . . . We are taking an action that is both cost-effective for consumers and will offer important environmental benefits that are protective of human health."

The refueling rule will be phased in for cars beginning in 1997, but they won't begin to be phased in on trucks until 2000.

The regulation will not require a completely new device. Most cars already have canisters in the engine compartment to capture polluting fuel evaporation.

Federal regulations call for those canisters to be improved beginning in 1996. Monday's announcement means refueling vapors will have to be captured and diverted to those enlarged, improved canisters.

The American Automobile Manufacturers Association called the rule tough, but said "the graduated nature of the phase-in enables us to gain valuable experience on passenger cars, which we can then transfer to our truck designs."

The EPA says the rule will cost about $5 per vehicle when fuel savings are considered. Automakers say the cost is $50-$100 with engineering, warranty and related hardware changes.

by CNB