EPA New Standards For Lawn Mowers To Save 190 Million Gallons Of Gasoline A Year

Washington, D.C. (AHN) - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued Thursday stricter emission standards for lawn mowers, which seeks to take away from the atmosphere 600,000 tons of hydrocarbons, 130,000 tons of nitrogen oxide and 1.5 million tons of carbon monoxide.

Hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides are the main cause of smog or ground-level ozone, which have been linked to respiratory ailments and premature death. It is also the cause of global warming.

The new rules will take effect 2010 and 2011. It mandates owners of small lawn mowers to install catalytic converters similar to devices placed in cars in 1975.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson, in a statement, said, "EPA's new small engine standards will allow Americans to cut air pollution as well as grass... These standards help fight smog in our neighborhoods and waterways as we continue to improve the environmental landscape."

The new rules overturns the objections of engine makers and Republicans in Congress who feared that placing a converter in small engines may cause the lawn mower to burn.

According to environmentalists, a riding lawn mower could discharge as much pollution equivalent to 34 vehicles for one hour use. By installing the device, the reduced emissions are estimated to prevent 300 premature deaths, 1,700 hospitalizations and 23,000 lost workdays annually. Because the device also leads to a better efficient combustion process, it could also save 190 million gallons of gasoline a year.

The EPA estimates the public health value of the lawn mower measures to reach between $1.6 billion to $4.4 billion yearly by 2030.

Previous efforts to cut pollution caused by loan mowers included a buyback program in 1996 pushed by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The program offered Oregonians a $40 rebate if they bought one of three specified cordless electric mowers or $10 if they purchased a manual mower.