Calls for obligatory diesel filters increase

Campaigners want particle filters like these to be obligatory Keystone

Filters that cut down emissions of cancer-causing soot should be made obligatory for all diesel vehicles, say the environment authorities and transport groups.

Official statistics show that particle pollution accounts for 3,700 deaths in Switzerland a year.

The call comes as parliament is due to debate a proposal to suspend the compulsory installation of diesel filters in construction machinery – a regulation that has been in force since 2003.

“Fine particles and especially carcinogenic diesel soot in urban areas are a serious health problem,” said the Swiss environment agency on Monday.

It said that filters should therefore be installed on all diesel vehicles in the country. This would help reach targets of halving particle pollution and drastically reducing soot emissions.

According to officials, particles found in the air, which are natural or manmade and include soot, heavy metals and sulphates, cause respiratory problems and could lead to lung cancer.

Estimates from the federal authorities show that particle pollution causes 3,700 premature deaths a year in Switzerland and entails annual extra health costs of SFr4.2 billion ($3.4 billion).

Almost three million people in the country are estimated to be regularly exposed to this type of dust. A major source of this pollution is cars.

Green cities

The agency’s call for diesel filters is part of wider efforts for cleaner air in Swiss cities and towns, ahead of this year’s World Environment Day on June 5, whose theme is “Green Cities”.

It also wants to reduce noise and encourage the number of green spaces within urban areas.

The nationwide use of diesel filters is also supported by the non-governmental Transport and Environmental Association.

Filters should be installed on all diesel vehicles, including heavy goods vehicles, tourist vehicles and buses, it said in a statement released on Tuesday.

Hutter motion

Ahead of the parliamentary debate, both the office and the NGO said that diesel filters should continue to be fitted to construction machinery.

In 2003 a Swiss environment agency directive made it obligatory for heavy machines on large and long-term construction sites to be fitted with filters.

But last March the rightwing Swiss People’s Party parliamentarian, Jasmin Hutter, called for the suspension of the directive, saying that Switzerland should wait until European Union regulations had come into force.

The parliamentarian, who is also sales manager at her family firm – Hutter Construction Machines – also alleged that existing filters did not work in Switzerland and that they were too expensive to install.

But this caused an outcry from the filter manufacturers concerned. The authorities later decided that Hutter had parliamentary immunity over her comments, reported in the media, as they were also covered in the motion.

Cabinet has meanwhile recommended that the proposal, which is to be debated in the House of Representatives, be rejected.

swissinfo with agencies

In brief

The federal authorities say dust particles cause 3,700 premature deaths in Switzerland a year and annual extra health costs of SFr4.2 billion ($3.4 billion).

Dust pollution comes mainly from vehicles, with major sources including exhaust gases, the braking system and tyres.

Dust particles affect the respiratory system, leading to chronic coughs, bronchitis, pulmonary infections and lung cancers and sometimes also heart problems.