ELECTRIC VEHICLES
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However, as I said a moment ago, this is what we really want to
determine in the study that we are sponsoring in the Bureau of Mines
laboratories at Bartlesville, Okla.
Senator CoTrON. In other words you suspect, even though there
hasn't been time or research enough either to confirm or refute your
suspicion, that given an improved chamber, from the standpoint of air
pollution, it wouldn't make any difference whether one chose to buy
the high octane or low octane gasoline?
Mr. DUNLOP. As I say, we don't have the conclusions at this point.
We do feel, however, that the combusion condition in the chamber
or the condition of the car is a more significant factor than fuel composition in this particular regard, whether the fuel be labeled as high
test, premium grade, or regular grade.
Senator COTrON. You have referred to the different kinds of emis-
sions that are, at least to varying extents, affecting the atmospherehydrocarbon emissions and carbon monoxide emissions. Now, I am
trespassing on the ground of my friend, Senator Baker. who is highly
learned in this field, and who baffled me beyond belief when he advanced the theory the other day in the hearing that the same automobile might be all right in New York, but very dangerous from
the atmospheric standpoint in Los Angeles, and vice versa. His rather
technical explanation I don't understand yet, so I can't ask you about
it.
From the research so far, does it affect all kinds of emissions,
including the nitrogen oxides and the hydrocarbons?
Mr. DUNLOP. Yes. If I may make this basic statement: I think there
are four possible sources of emissions as far as the automobile is concerned. The most significant are those that come out of the exhaust.
There are also emissions that are released from the crankcase.
Finally there are those in the carburetor system and from the fuel
tank itself.
These data that I have cited in my prepared statement indicate that
the emissions coming from the crankcase have been essentially taken
care of. This is the positive crankcase ventilation system that was
introduced in California and has been on most new vehicles since
1963.
These two devices that I mentioned here, that the oil industry has
worked on, and even more work has been done on them in the automobile industry-the emissions from the carburetor system and from the
gas tank-we think they will also be under essentially satisfactory
control.
So that leaves the emissions coming out of the tailpipe, and that is
the area that is receiving at this point in time the maximum effort
because we feel, by and large, the emissions coming from the other
three sources have either been brought under satisfactory control or
will be with newly developed technology.
It doesn't mean there isn't much more work to be done. There is. But
the thrust of the moment is the effort on the emissions coming out of
the tailpipe.
You have identified the hydrocarbons, the unburned hydrocarbons,
the carbon monoxide, and the oxides of nitrogen.
With respect to the first two, much more work has been done than
on the oxides of nitrogen. That is an area that is receiving increasing attention.