Ozone Monitoring Returns in Southeast Michigan
MDARD will test the vapor pressure of gas in eight Southeast Michigan counties.
The Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development starts testing for the evaporation rate of gasoline sold in the summer today. Gas with a higher vapor pressure in the summer months can evaporate more quickly, get into the atmosphere, and deplete the ozone.The department’s Director of Consumer Protection is Craig VanBuren. He says in the winter the vapor pressure of gasoline needs to be higher in order to start your car.
“It doesn’t take too much to start it in the summertime…in fact if it’s too high in the summertime, you can get what’s called vapor lock,” VanBuren says. “The fuel can turn into a vapor more readily in your gas lines and that can cause a vapor lock problem.”
Van Buren says the department will make sure the fuel’s vapor pressure in more than 500 gas stations does not exceed seven pounds per square inch. Testing of the fuel will end September 15th.
