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Breakthrough for
Cleaner Air
By THEODORE IRWIN
Every new American car is equipped with an
ingenious device developed by the auto industry to cut
down air pollution and guard your health
IF YOU ARE one of the seven million
Americans who will buy a new car
this year, you probably won't notice a
brand-new contraption called the "blow
by" attached to its engine.
But this deceptively simple device, consisting
chiefly of a special valve and tubing, will help
guard your health by cutting down the noxious
fumes released into the air you breathe.
In 1963, for the first time in automotive his
tory, this air-clearing device has become stand
ard equipment on every new U.S. car, truck, and
bus. And although motor vehicles are only one
source of air pollution, the introduction of the
blowby is a major development in the fight for
clean air.
The villain that the blowby battles is not the
"smoke" you may see as a car starts up. Nor is
it carbon monoxide, which is readily dispersed
in the air. Its target is gasoline which does not
burn, or burns only partly, as it passes out of
the crankcase or tail pipe. Especially when idling,
your car may fail to utilize all the gasoline de
livered to the motor. Some of this unburned gas
reacts with other substances in the air and forms
highly irritating new chemical compounds.
They are so potent they can ruin the nylon
stockings of a woman who happens to be close
to the exhaust pipe of a car when the driver puts
his foot on the gas pedal!
Today, the nation's cars use 60 billion gallons
of gasoline a year about a gallon per person
per day and consumption is increasing at the
rate of 4 to 6 percent a year. Unless action is
taken, the thousands of tons of gases escaping
daily into the air will double in a generation.
Fully aware of the problem, the U.S. auto in
dustry has been pouring millions of dollars into
research for the past 10 years. Working in the
public interest, the car manufacturers have
agreed to exchange information and share pat
ents freely in a cross-licensing arrangement.
At least 14 task forces of research engineers
have been working steadily to find solutions.
Inventors have submitted more than 100 devices
and ideas for evaluation by a special committee
of the Automobile Manufacturers Association.
Now we have the first breakthrough, the blow-
by, which was developed by several research
teams. It collects unburned gases which other
wise would be released into the air as fumes
and sends them back through a tube to the en
gine, where they are burned up. The device re
duces air pollution from cars by 25 to 40 percent
(depending on how you drive, the size of the'
engine, and other factors). "
"The decision of the automobile industry to
install blowby devices is a gratifying develop
ment," says Surgeon General Luther L. Terry.
What about older cars? A blowby can be in
stalled on any model by a garage mechanic for
about $10, plus labor. Installation takes about an
hour, the same as for a lube job or checkup.
Blowbys are especially useful on older cars be
cause they are generally the worst offenders.
Despite the blowby breakthrough, however,
scientists still have other problems. For instance,
they are trying to come up with an effective
contrivance to trap the large volume of annoying
vapors escaping from the exhaust system through
the tail pipe.
Such a fume destroyer should be perfected
shortly. Researchers are concentrating on
a direct flame or "afterburner" to annihilate
both hydrocarbon and carbon-monoxide gases
after they leave the engine but before they enter
the atmosphere. At least three such devices pres
ently are undergoing rigid tests by the Califor-.
nia Motor Vehicle Pollutions Control Board.
Automotive researchers also are studying the
importance of evaporation from the fuel tank
and carburetor and even are considering basic
changes in engine design and operation that
would reduce hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide.
Most of the big auto producers are now experi-,
menting with such modified engines.
But the motorist, as a health-minded and
public-spirited citizen, also can help by giv
ing his car regular maintenance. How much
hydrocarbon comes out of a car's tail pipe
depends largely on the engine's condition. One
bad spark plug can double the volume of escap
ing hydrocarbons; adjustment of the carburetor
should reduce the carbon monoxide emitted by .
more than half. Moreover, keeping your car in
good shape saves you money; that fouled spark
plug, for instance, wastes a lot of gasoline.
So, if you notice that the exhaust from your
car is black and foul-smelling, you are defiling
the air and wasting money. Black exhaust may
mean a dirty filter or faulty carburetor. White
or blue exhaust indicates oil either is being
pushed past worn piston rings and grooves or
is being sucked through worn-out valve guides.
Some of this oil carbonizes, causing spark plugs
to misfire and increasing cylinder wear. When
you find your car acta sluggish or the engine
misses as you give it the gas, it's time to see a
good mechanic. "
"We all have a stake in clean air," Surgeon
General Terry reminds us.
COVER:
Times haven't changed much. Boys ttill
want to be 10 feet tall, at these young
stilt walkers testify. They were caught
under Florida skies by Dennis Hallinan.
Family
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