"'Unlawful Pollution': Volkswagen Charged With Crimes Against Climate", 4 Jan 2015
The U.S. Department of Justice…filed suit against Volkswagen…The civil suit…alleges that nearly 600,000 diesel engine vehicles had illegal defeat devices installed that impair their emission control systems and cause emissions to exceed EPA [Environmental Protection Agency]’s standards. Further, the complaint states that Volkswagen violated the Clean Air Act by bringing to U.S. market vehicles that were designed differently than the company had stated in applications for certification to EPA and the California Air Resources Board (CARB)…Environmental groups have estimated that the cheating scandal caused at least 32.2 million tons of extra carbon pollution into the atmosphere, equal to roughly 6.8 million cars…In addition to its environmental impact, pollution by nitrogen oxides (or NOx) has been linked to grave health problems, namely asthma and other serious respiratory illnesses…recent studies have shown that the direct health effects of NOx…may also include damage to lung tissue and premature death...
↧