Devon Authorities and Enviro Technology in Defra Study

A £20,000 DEFRA grant has enabled five local authorities in Devon to undertake a two-part study into vehicle emissions using Enviro Technology’s advanced Accuscan 4600 equipment.
The five authorities, Torbay, Teignmouth, South Hams, mid-Devon and Plymouth undertook the first part of the study last month and will run the second part in the summer to take account of the impact of varying weather conditions.
All of the five have air qualitymanagement areas which are sites with high traffic flows, but the study is providing a detailed assessment of pollution in those locations from specific vehicle types including HGVs, buses and commercial vehicles.
By using ET’s Accuscan 4600 remote-sensing system they can record drive-by recording of vehicle emissions along with automatic number plate capturing to identify the highest emitting vehicles. The results can be further broken down into diesel and petrol engines, as well as by vehicle size. This detailed source apportionment is crucial in developing traffic management policies and in educating the owners of unregulated vehicles such as small delivery vans about their emission levels.
Dr PeterWalsh, senior environmental protection officer for Torbay Council who led the funding bid explained,” The results will enable us to work with groups including bus operators, taxis and commercial vehicle owners to enforce emissions standards.”
ET’s operations director, DuncanMounsor commented,” The Accuscan’s ability to record such detailed information without stopping any vehicles, makes it highly efficient in this kind of situation.”