Remote Sensing Measurements of Carbon Monoxide Emissions from On-Road Vehicles

Abstract

This report describes instrumentation that remotely measures the CO emissions from thousands of vehicles per day with a sensitivity of ± 1 percent CO in the exhaust, which is approximately 13 grams per mile of CO for new vehicles. A prototype of this instrument was used in Denver, Colorado in January 1989 during a study conducted in conjunction with researchers from the University of Denver, who have developed similar Instrumentation. Emission measurements were made on approximately 4000 vehicles that were identified by make and model year from state vehicle registration records. The data demonstrates a clear trend of higher emission rates from older vehicles and suggests that lowering emission standards for new vehicles will have little immediate impact upon ambient urban CO levels.