Dear Editor – Please allow me space to express my concern on vehicles with excessive thick black smoke in Honiara town.
Excessive exhaust emission is a silent killer and is becoming a real problem to our country and environment.
Most people think only the food we consume can get us sick. But our air pollution is a silent killer from infancy itself. Even though people are more concerned about cholesterol, diabetics and heart attacks, but the truth is that polluted air is a silent killer. Hydro-carbons, unburnt gasoline and oil vapour contributes immensely to smog.
Black smoke emission is gas that spew from automobile and pollutes the environment with its combination of unburnt Hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide and Nitrogen Oxides which forms a photo chemicals smog, acid deposition and towering CO levels causing respiratory deficiencies.
Many of our public buses in Honiara Town are seen with excessive black thick smoke and are causing risk to lives of our people in the Solomon Islands especially the public pedestrians.
In other countries, this is a serious crime and vehicles that committing that offence are judged.
Exhaust Emission is known to be caused by the following:
· Dirty engines,
· Engines not regularly maintained,
· Dirty fuel which includes the following:
o Fuel and water,
o Diesel and Kerosene,
o Fuel and Engine oil,
o Fuel and other contaminants,
· Poorly adjusted fuel systems,
· Driving attitude
· Quality of workmanship [qualified mechanics]
· Use of poor quality lubricant [check source] and the list goes on…
Can the Ministry responsible make ways to minimizing or decreasing emissions?
Whose responsibility is this?
Is it the Ministry of Infrastructure Development, or Police Traffic, or the Inland Revenue.
The Responsible Ministries should integrate all its road safety related issues and intensify its awareness and enforcement policies to the vehicle owners and the public at large and crackdown on excessive vehicle emission or excessive smoke.
The effect of emissions from these vehicles is very detrimental. Its effect can lead to some serious health- related issues, environmental degradation and financial implication on a national and international level as well.
Vehicle emission is a serious problem in developed and developing countries, and it is becoming a real problem to our country Solomon Islands.
While it is true that all motor vehicles emit smoke, it is the degree of it, which is the problem.
What is your traffic infringement? If excessive smoke, then issue one.
Make your aim to create awareness and to decrease smoke emissions released by vehicles on our roads.
If the Ministry doesn’t have engine analyser to track down vehicles emitting excessive smoke, please make sure to obtain one and do tests before allowing Vehicles to run on public roads.
Responsible Ministry should educate the general public especially road users on the unhealthy effects of excessive smoke emissions
Morgan Apaipue
Kombivatu
