Anchorage Daily News

Several members of the new Anchorage Assembly want to continue auto emissions tests. For Anchorage drivers, that would mean about a $60 fee every other year -- and a requirement to repair polluting vehicles.

A different lineup of Assembly members last year voted to end emissions testing by January, 2010, because the city can meet federal air quality standards for carbon monoxide without the program.

Newer cars pollute much less than old ones, and that accounts for a huge improvement in Anchorage's carbon monoxide emissions over 25 years ago. It's why we haven't violated the federal standards since 1996.

That said, there are excellent reasons to continue the tests, and we'd urge the current Assembly to reverse the old one and keep them going.

Here's a big reason: We may have dramatically reduced carbon monoxide levels, but scientists believe Anchorage's airborne benzene levels are among the highest in the U.S.

Benzene causes leukemia and respiratory diseases. Vehicle emissions are likely the main source of benzene in Anchorage neighborhoods, a city task force reported last year.

The EPA believes the I/M tests lead to an 18 percent reduction in benzene levels, though.

Another reason to continue testing: We may be below federal maximums, but with our subarctic climate, carbon monoxide levels are still a concern.

Temperature inversions in winter trap polluted air close to the ground, where we breathe it in.

Anchorage's carbon monoxide pollution levels were the fifth-highest among the 408 stations reporting to the EPA in 2006, and one of our stations ranked seventh-highest in 2007, says city air quality control director Steve Morris.

We were more polluted with carbon monoxide last year than New York City, Los Angeles or Houston, he says.

The emissions program still makes our air cleaner. It reduces carbon monoxide by about 12 percent or nine tons per day, the task force report said.

Besides all that, there's a benefit to drivers. When owners repair their autos after a failed I/M test, their fuel economy improves an average of 5 percent, the task force reported. With last year's gas prices, this saved an estimated $1.2 million annually for the vehicle owners.

It would be a much greater savings now that gasoline prices have shot up.

The Assembly is due to take up the emissions testing issue July 15, after opening a public hearing June 24. The hearing will continue.

Various alternatives are under discussion -- exemptions from the I/M tests for cars and trucks up to 6 years old, or up to 8 years old; whether to exempt cars more than 25 years old because there aren't many of them; and whether to toss in a muffler inspection or other safety checks.

We'll leave it to science to determine how many years a new car will most likely emit so little carbon monoxide as not to need testing.

Cut down on noise violations with a muffler check every couple years? That's a good idea too.

BOTTOM LINE: Our air is cleaner than it used to be, but not good enough that we should give up testing vehicles.

ALASKA ALMANAC

IM testing works

60 percent -- How much concentrations of carbon monoxide have declined in Anchorage since I/M testing began here in 1985.

12 percent -- Decrease in carbon monoxide levels the I/M program is responsible for daily.

76 percent -- The amount of all carbon monoxide emissions in Anchorage that cars and trucks account for.

26 percent -- The average amount emissions are reduced from a vehicle that fails the I/M test, then gets repaired.

18 percent -- The reduction in cancer-causing benzene levels attributed to I/M testing.

5 percent -- The improvement in fuel economy for a car or truck that undergoes repairs after failing an I/M test.

5th highest -- Where Anchorage's carbon monoxide levels in 2006 place us among 408 stations reporting to the EPA.

3rd highest -- Where Anchorage residents ranked "clean air" in a listing of environmental concerns on the 2006 Anchorage Community Assessment Project survey.

Sources: Mayor's I/M Task Force report, September, 2007.

I/M TEST: Find the city's I/M Task Force report at muni.org/health, on the right side.

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