New EU air pollution rules underway for ‘non-road mobile machinery’

In their efforts to improve air quality in Europe, EU lawmakers adopted a directive in 1997 that restricted emissions of pollutants such as nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) from diesel engines installed in non-road mobile machinery (NRMM).

NRMM includes machinery used in the agricultural sector (for example tractors, harvesters, sprayers and chainsaws) and road construction (concrete pavers, cement mixers, bulldozers), railroads as well as inland waterway vessels (IWV), such as barges.

As part of the directive’s review process, the European Commission put several proposals up for discussion with stakeholders in 2013, with a view to meaningfully reduce NRMM emissions.

NRMM that is already regulated — compression engines for example — may have tighter emission restrictions. NRMM that was previously unregulated, such as generators and snowmobile engines, could come under the scope of the directive.

According to the Commission, these kinds of modifications are also necessary because some of the directive’s emissions requirements are not up to date with already available, state-of-the-art technology.
A Commission spokesperson confirmed to EurActiv that the legislative proposal shall be unveiled “in the second half of September 2014”.

• Primary Source

ESO: Background information: Draft EU road machinery law 'will create more pollution' http://www.europeansources.info/record/draft-eu-road-machinery-law-will-create-more-pollution/

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