Insufficient attention given to pollution from car-repair shops

Air pollution from car-repair shops is a serious problem, and one that is largely neglected by both law enforcers and legislators, a deputy to Shanghai People’s Congress said.

During sheet-metal spray painting, a great amount of volatile organic compounds are emitted if no efficient filter is installed, with only 60 percent of repair shops in Shanghai believed to have effective systems in place, said deputy Pan Jiming, general manager of the planning department of SAIC Motors.

Even with approved filtration 25 percent of VOCs are still emitted into the air, Pan said.

“With an estimated 5 million cars repaired in this way every year, the resulting VOC emission could amount to over 700 tons,” he said. 

While there are strict pollution-control regulations for the whole-car paint industry, there is no similar specific regulation covering repairs, although the government has tried to close down unlicensed repair shops, he said.

In terms of law enforcement, Pan said the cost of law breaking did not compare with the cost of environmentally-friendly paint rooms. One such paint room costs 300,000 yuan (US$44,000) plus 100,000 yuan each year for maintenance. Polluters are fined a maximum of 200,000 yuan.

“The number of law enforcers is limited, and enforcement in suburban areas is especially ineffective. Some repair shops there work in the open air,” Pan said.

He suggested that apart from legislation and more vigorous law enforcement, the government should encourage the establishment of professional sheet-metal spray paint plants with highly efficient anti-pollution equipment. In this case, 73 percent of VOCs are eliminated, while currently the average is only 45 percent.