The "recommended" status of in-car air quality standards is in dispute

The Ministry of Environmental Protection and the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China jointly issued the Guidelines for the Evaluation of Air Quality in Passenger Cars, setting limit values ​​for eight common concentrations of volatile organic compounds in cars, including benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde. The standard has been formally implemented since March 1, 2012.

For the Chinese automotive industry, this year's March will be considered the "car air quality" starting month. With the "Guidance on Air Quality Assessment for Passenger Vehicles" implemented since March 1, and the proposal of "Clean Air Quality and Prevention of Indoor Environmental Pollution" proposed by the CPPCC member Li Shufu, relevant "air quality in the car" was exposed. The topic is getting hotter and hotter.

Although the World Health Organization has explicitly listed air pollution in the car as one of the ten major threats to human health, together with high blood pressure and AIDS, the air quality in the car has not been adequate in China because of consumers’ car purchase habits and lack of understanding. The emphasis has always been on non-regulation, non-standard, and non-regulatory status. However, disputes and lawsuits caused by air pollution in cars are commonplace. The Guidelines for the Evaluation of Air Quality in Passenger Cars (hereinafter abbreviated as “Guidelines”) implemented from March 1st fills the standard blank, but also because of their “recommended” rather than “mandatory” status. Problems such as the role of the testing organization and whether the standards are too low have caused heated discussions in the industry.

"Recommendation" guidelines Geometry of action Domestic air quality in cars has always been unregulated, non-standard, and unsupervised. Consumers have only tolerate the odors of new cars. The Guidelines for Air Quality Assessment in Passenger Vehicles, which began on March 1 this year, provide a reference standard for solving air pollution problems in vehicles. The "Guide" specifies the concentration requirements for benzene, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, styrene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and acrolein in the air in the vehicle.

In an interview with a reporter from the China Economic Times, a number of car owners said that because the government did not establish an authoritative release mechanism or a third-party professional testing agency, it was difficult for ordinary car owners to obtain the car interior air quality index of various models. Therefore, the Guide was The reference meaning of consumers when buying a car is completely unattainable. Only from the source, so that the car manufacturer to ensure that the materials used, the process meets environmental standards, the car's air quality is guaranteed. However, with the recommendation of the "Guide", it is hard to say how much influence can be exerted on automobile manufacturers that are at the source of air quality control in cars.

Dong Zhuli, deputy secretary-general of the China Consumers Association, said at the Volvo Car Interior Air Quality Seminar that the "Guide" is only a recommended standard and that it is not binding enough and should be raised to mandatory standards. It is necessary to continuously improve the air quality evaluation system in the car, including the declaration and use of raw materials, dynamic vehicle interior air quality testing, etc. At the same time, the air quality in the car should be linked to the automobile production access, and the new car indoor air for the vehicle manufacturer. Quality imposes mandatory requirements and establishes a corresponding penalty mechanism. The quality of air quality in the vehicle is an important reference for the purchase of vehicles.

Li Shufu, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), stated that the guideline provided a basis for consumer rights protection in the car to a certain extent. However, this guideline is not a mandatory standard and has no legally binding force. It cannot effectively carry out harmful substances in the vehicle. inhibition.

This statement was approved by Zhang Zhiyong, an automotive marketing expert. He said that companies are pursuing profits. In the absence of air quality standards in China, automotive interiors do not involve the core technology of automobile production, and automotive companies require paint, plastics, and seats to support their products. Must be lower than Europe, America and Japan. However, for this phenomenon, we can only condemn it from the moral level.

It is more difficult for the standards to be compulsorily operable. Prof. Ge Yunshan, head of the “Guideline” Development Team, believes that it is very difficult for the “Guidance” to become a mandatory standard. He pointed out that the determination of the air quality in the vehicle is influenced by external environmental factors, and it is difficult to achieve unity and operability. He said, “First of all, we have to be limited by time. The new car has just been measured offline and offline for a month. The value is definitely not the same. Second, it is particularly vulnerable to temperature, and the emission of harmful gases in the interior of the car will be high at high temperatures. Faster; Third, the test process is also susceptible to interference. For example, a drop of gasoline and perfume in the car may cause geometrical magnitude changes in the test value.

Zhang Zhiyong thinks this is a kind of evasion. He said, “The detection index we say is generated under a certain average environment. For example, collision tests are also produced in the laboratory.”

According to the “Guide”, when sampling is performed, under the environmental conditions stipulated in HJ/T400-2007, the vehicle under inspection is in a stationary state, and the air intake vent doors of the vehicle doors, windows and crew compartment are all closed, and the engine and air conditioning equipment are not jobs.

Zhang Zhiyong, an automotive marketing expert, believes that the impact of car air quality on the automotive industry will be even more important than crash testing.

He pointed out that the current car collision star has a great role in car marketing, and consumers tend to pay attention to the product's collision star when they purchase. However, no matter what the car's collision star rating is, if there is no traffic accident, these are meaningless. In terms of probability, traffic accidents rarely occur. However, the quality of air inside the car is affecting people's health at all times.

He pointed out that if it is possible to establish an interior air quality test rating similar to that of a crash test, it will become one of the references for car owners when buying a car, and the effect on solving the air pollution in the car naturally goes without saying.

He pointed out that auto companies are unwilling to implement mandatory standards, and it is the resistance from interest groups within the auto industry that has led to the nature of the recommendations in the current Guidelines. Therefore, under the "Guide" that forms the same text, the Chinese auto industry remains worrying.

The air pollution of car companies’ profits must be sent to the air quality. The main sources of air pollution are: raw materials, chemical preparations used in automobile production, and toxic gases released by interior decorations; second, dirty air entering the car outside the car. Health hazards that are not effectively filtered afterwards.

Countries such as Europe and the United States have taken the lead in improving the quality of air quality in cars. They all impose strict standards on interior materials and require auto manufacturers to use non-polluting water-based paints and relatively environmentally friendly adhesives.

In the process of controlling the air quality in the car, there are many car companies that have set up a special system for controlling the air quality in the car. For example, the interior air management department of Volvo Cars works together with the vehicle design, raw material procurement, manufacturing and other departments. Not only is the interior material free from allergenic substances, Volvo has also designed an indoor air quality system. The composite filter installed in the interior ventilation of the vehicle can filter 95% of PM 1.0-5.0 dust and particles. 99 % Filters dust and particles that exceed PM5.0.

Zhang Zhiyong pointed out that the improvement of air quality in China, which is currently referred to, mainly refers to the automotive interior material level.

It is not difficult to see that to solve the problem of air pollution in the car, it will inevitably bring about an increase in the manufacturing costs of automobile companies. Moreover, due to the fierce competition in the auto market and different segmentation goals, it is very difficult for car companies to pass this pressure to consumers, so they can only reduce costs by doing their best to protect standards.

As for the contradiction between the air quality in the car and the profits of the company, Dong Zhuli said that to ensure that raw materials and parts meet the standards, car companies must make concessions on costs and profits.

When it comes to the current state of China's auto industry development, where will future air quality control in the car go? Zhang Zhiyong said that as a corporate citizen, the first thing to consider is the health of the owner, so improving the air quality in the car is an irreversible future direction. .