Coup against diesel trucks that distort pollutant emissions | Society
There are tutorials on YouTube to install them in a flash and dozens of ads on the web to buy them for two dollars. They are the devices that deactivate the so-called Adblue devices that trucks and diesel buses must be installed to comply with European standards for pollutant emissions, in this case, of nitrogen oxides (NOx). The wide range on the Internet is a clue as to how widespread this fraud can be that has consequences for the environment and for health. Nitrogen oxides are toxic gases that in turn generate the harmful particles that cause thousands of premature deaths each year.
The Seprona Civil Guard and the Office of the Environment and Urban Planning have developed a pioneering research to detect the installation of these devices, known as emulators, and to calculate the emissions above the legal limit that are expelled when installed. The idea, explain sources of the investigation, is to also be able to open the criminal path against those who commit this fraud. Until now, when the Civil Guard or the different regional police located these devices in a truck or a bus, only an administrative file was opened.
The operation, which began a couple of years ago after the complaint of an Adblue manufacturer, has been carried out together with Europol and it has also been developed in France and the United Kingdom. It has focused on a transport company in Madrid that, according to Seprona, had installed emulators in 30 of the 160 trucks it has. Fundamentally, it affects vehicles that must comply with the Euro 4 and Euro 5 anti-pollution regulations (Euro 6 is now in force for new trucks).
The investigators, according to the Civil Guard, calculate that the company would have obtained a profit of 700 euros per vehicle per year. And, with that device, the 30 trucks would have emitted up to 90 tons of nitrogen oxide above the legal limits during the investigated period. This estimate is what allows the prosecution and Seprona to open criminal proceedings against those responsible for the transport company. Four people are accused by investigators of a crime against natural resources and the environment. In addition, possible money laundering and tax evasion are also investigated.
With the installation of this device, the company manages to save on the one hand the liquid (from urea) used by the Adblue system to clean emissions from diesel engines. On the other hand, by deactivating the system, maintenance is also saved. And also, it avoids that when the Adblue fails, paralyze the engine of the truck, for what is scheduled, which can generate significant expenses if a transport of goods is being carried out, explain sources of the Civil Guard. And, if, as in the case of the transport company in Madrid involved in this operation, shipping is international, losses are multiplied when the system fails.
