Canada moves in lockstep with the U.S.

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OTTAWA, Ont. — In a move surprising no one in the industry, the federal government has issued tough new engine emission standards that will come into effect for the 2007 model year.

The new rules — which shadow those already on the books south of the border — are aimed at creating a new generation of heavy-duty diesels virtually free of smog causing emissions.

Emissions of nitrogen oxides, a major contributor to smog, as well as emissions of particulate matter, which is linked to respiratory and other health problems, will be cut by 95 and 90 per cent respectively by the time the 2007 model year is introduced to the marketplace.

In order to achieve the aggressive cuts, engines will employ new technological add-ons such as cooled exhaust gas re-circulation; particulate traps; NOx absorbers or other technologies currently under development.

They will run on technology enabled by the use of ultra-low sulphur diesel fuel. Both the U.S. and Canada have mandated a 97 per cent reduction in the sulphur content of truck diesel fuel from 500 parts per million to 15 parts per million by 2006.

Sulphur is a contributor to the production of particulate matter. The new Canadian fuel regulations were introduced in December 2001.

“Truck fuels and engine emissions have been regulated on a progressively more stringent basis in North America since the 1970s,” says Canadian Trucking Alliance chief executive officer David Bradley. “The new regulations are simply the next step in that process, though perhaps the most spectacular.”

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