Oregon, Western companies settle with EPA for sale of equipment used to disable car pollution controls

Oregon Capital Chronicle journalist Alex Baumhardt reports about a northeastern Oregon company, Diamond Eye Manufacturing, which has been fined by the federal Environmental Protection Agency due to its involvement in producing components that enable the bypassing of pollution controls in vehicles.

In a nutshell:

The EPA accused Diamond Eye and several other firms in different states of violating the Clean Air Act by selling parts that allow drivers to disable emission controls in their cars, resulting in higher levels of harmful pollutants like nitrogen oxide and particulate matter being released into the air. Diamond Eye was specifically implicated for selling over 33,000 illicit parts between 2017 and 2019 that could potentially enable drivers to remove pollution-control devices. The company agreed to pay a $265,000 fine and cease the production of such illegal parts as part of its settlement with the EPA.

Key quote:

“All we do is bend tubes into crazy shapes for trucks. We manufacture the pipes,” James Smith, marketing and information technology manager at Diamond Eye said. “Whether or not you reincorporate or weld the pollution equipment back together is up to the installer and individual folks.”

The big picture:

The removal or disabling of pollution control parts in cars can have significant effects. By allowing higher emissions of pollutants like nitrogen oxide and particulate matter, these actions contribute to the deterioration of air quality. Such pollutants are harmful to human health, particularly affecting respiratory and cardiovascular systems. Exposure to increased levels of these pollutants can lead to aggravated asthma symptoms, lung infections, and even more severe respiratory diseases. The use of parts that disable pollution controls in cars not only exacerbates environmental concerns but also poses a direct threat to public health.

Read the article at the Oregon Capital Chronicle.

Air pollution is to blame for up to 33 million emergency room visits for asthma attacks around the world annually, according to a 2018 study.