UNOCAL AUTO SCRAP PROJECT TOPS EXPECTATIONS

Unocal Corp.'s project to rid the Los Angeles basin of the worst polluting automobiles has removed 53% more air pollution per car than expected.

Reviewing results of the 5 month South Coast Recycled Auto Project (Scrap), Unocal Chairman Richard J. Stegemeier noted the company scrapped 8,376 pre-1971 cars.

HEAVY POLLUTERS

"Based on extensive testing, Scrap vehicles emitted as much as 60 times more pollution per mile than 1990 model cars," Stegemeier said. "Prior to the program, environmental experts believed the worst polluting vehicles in Los Angeles were 15-30 times more polluting than new cars."

Vehicles scrapped under the program were driven an average 5,500 miles/year and emitted a combined total 10.7 million lb/year of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides.

By comparison, a similar size fleet of 1990 model cars would be expected to travel an average of 15,000 miles/year and emit only 700,000 lb/year of pollutants.

"Scrap demonstrated the immediate and cost-effective impact we can make on air pollution by removing pre-1971 vehicles from the roads," Stegemeier said. "It is certain, it is measurable, and it is happening now, not in 1996 or 2000 or 2007.

"Scrap is an outstanding example of industry-government cooperation. We had the enthusiastic cooperation of every agency we approached, and the result has been tremendous efficiency, cooperative analysis, the promise of a greater data base than has existed before, and the outlook for improved regulations and regulatory policy based on better information than was previously available."

Unocal set out to remove 7,000 pre-1971 vehicles from Los Angeles basin roads by purchasing them from owners for $700 each. The project was expected to rid the air of 5.9 million lb of pollutants.

POPULAR PROGRAM

Scrap became so popular several other companies and more than 100 individuals contributed funds to purchase and scrap additional vehicles, raising the total beyond Unocal's projections.

Corporate support took off when employees of Cypress Semiconductor, San Jose, Calif., sent a check for $700 with a letter urging Unocal to "buy and bury one for us, too."

First Interstate Bank set up a special loan program for Scrap participants, offering lower rates and longer repayment terms on some new and used vehicles.

Ford Motor Co. joined Scrap, contributing $700/car to junk another 1,000 vehicles. It also offered special rebates for Scrap participants. Local Ford and Lincoln-Mercury dealers contributed funds to scrap another 90 cars.

AGENCIES HELP

California regulatory agencies also participated in Scrap.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District contributed $1 00,000, enough for Unocal to junk another 143 heavy polluters.

California Air Resources Board's laboratory ran the Federal Test Procedure (FTP) on a representative sample of the vehicles to provide detailed information on emissions,

The Southern California Association of Governments provided data and analysis, and California Department of Motor Vehicles provided onsite personnel and computer hookups at the scrapping facility to verify ownership. The California Bureau of Automotive Repair currently is researching odometer mileage records on the scrapped vehicles.

Stegemeier noted the FTP also found the pre-1971 vehicles averaged only 11.9 miles/gal in the city, about half that of 1990 model cars.