Pollution Vans

In a city bursting at its seams with mianbao che, a few more white vans don't get much attention. Until, of course, they catch your mianbao che violating the city standards for exhaust emissions.

Exhaust-monitoring vans hit the street this month, using laser technology to measure the carbon levels in the exhaust from passing vehicles. The laser takes less than a second to measure exhaust, and a camera snaps an image of the license plate of any offending vehicle. Minutes later, the driver will be stopped by a nearby cop car and fined RMB 100.

Chinese media reports that there are three vans in operation, with plans for seven more by the end of the year, and twelve more to hit the streets next year (according to The Times, however, there are already 22 in operation). Each van reportedly costs RMB 1.3 million, a significant amount, and we're surprised that the vans aren't getting much of a publicity campaign yet - you'd think that getting residents aware of the threat of being fined would be half the battle. We can't find a close-up photo of the vans, but supposedly they're marked with the words huanbao jiancha (环保检查, environmental monitor).

Xinhua announced last month that from this month on, only cars meeting China IV emission standards (the equivalent of Euro IV) can be sold in the city. Perhaps these standards (which were put into effect in Europe in January 2007, and limit car emissions to 0.25g/km of nitrogen oxides and 0.02 g/km of particulate matter) are being used to measure the city's vehicles.

Links and Sources
The Times: Wheezy city pulls out all the stops to clear the air
(Image) 新京报: 19辆遥测车上路查尾气
京华时报: 北京:激光遥感车上路实时监测车辆尾气