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What is the Volkswagen controversy all about?
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a notice of violation, or NOV, of the Clean Air Act to Volkswagen AG, Audi AG and Volkswagen Group of America. The NOV alleges that four-cylinder VW and Audi diesel cars from model years 2009-2015 include software that circumvents EPA emissions standards for certain air pollutants. The allegations cover roughly 482,000 diesel passenger cars sold in the US since 2008.
How does this software work?
According to the NOV, a sophisticated software algorithm on certain VW vehicles detects and turns on full emission controls only during the test. The effectiveness of these vehicles’ pollution emissions control devices is greatly reduced during all normal driving situations.
What happens subsequently?
As a result, says EPA, cars that meet emissions standards in the laboratory or testing station, but during normal operation, emit nitrogen oxides at up to 40 times the standard. The software produced by Volkswagen is a “defeat device,” as defined by the Clean Air Act.
How serious is this lapse?
To quote Cynthia Giles, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, “Using a defeat device in cars to evade clean air standards is illegal and a threat to public health. Working closely with the California Air Resources Board, EPA is committed to making sure that all automakers play by the same rules.”
What does this mean for VW?
Motor vehicles equipped with defeat devices, which reduce the effectiveness of the emission control system during normal driving conditions, cannot be certified. By making and selling vehicles with defeat devices that allowed for higher levels of air emissions than were certified to EPA, VW violated two important provisions of the Clean Air Act.
Who was the whistleblower in this entire drama?
The defeat device software was unearthed after independent analysis by researchers at West Virginia University, working with the International Council on Clean Transportation raised questions about emissions levels. In September, after EPA demanded an explanation for the identified emission problems, VW admitted that the cars contained defeat devices.
Could this violation have posed serious health risks?
Nitrogen oxides pollution contributes to nitrogen dioxide, ground-level ozone, and fine particulate matter. Exposure to these pollutants has been linked with a range of serious health effects, including increased asthma attacks and other respiratory illnesses that can be serious enough to send people to the hospital. According to EPA, children, the elderly and people with pre-existing respiratory disease are at risk.
What is in store for VW?
EPA says VW may be liable for civil penalties and injunctive relief for the violations alleged in the NOV. Car owners should know that although these vehicles have emissions exceeding standards, these violations do not present a safety hazard and the cars remain legal to drive and resell. Owners of these models and years do not need to take any action at this time.
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