Control of Particulate Lead Emissions from Automobiles

Exhaust particulate lead trapping systems and devices designed to reduce airborne lead emissions by 65 percent or more have been developed and tested on vehicles. Tests of up to 60,000 miles indicate that these devices should retain their effectiveness and last the lifetime of a passenger vehicle without maintenance. The traps reduced the total amount of lead emitted from production vehicles operated on leaded gasoline by 82 to 91 percent. They also reduced by 64 to 84 percent the amount of lead in the air after driving both production and trap-equipped vehicles through a vehicular tunnel. When a trapping system was combined with a gaseous emission control system, consisting of exhaust manifold thermal reactor and exhaust gas recirculation systems, the total lead emitted was reduced by 85 percent and the amount of lead found in the air of the vehicular tunnel was reduced by 71 percent when compared with production vehicles.