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Electronic Mfgs under Attack by Dept of Justice & U.S. E.P.A.


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From the Chrome Pony website

http://www.thechromepony.com/News-07-10-07.html

 

MIL Eliminators Under Attack

 

The Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today a landmark settlement requiring Casper's Electronics, of Mundelein, IL, to pay a penalty and stop selling devices that allow cars to release excess levels of pollution into the environment, in violation of the Clean Air Act.

 

Today's settlement is the first of its kind, and requires Casper's to stop selling the electronic devices known as oxygen sensor simulators or "O2 Sims." The company must also recall the devices and pay more than $74,000 in civil penalties to the United States.

 

These O2 sensors simulators are considered illegal "defeat devices" under the federal Clean Air Act. Casper's has sold approximately 44,000 defeat devices through retailers and from its Web site since 2001.

 

The EPA estimates that the increased emissions from installation of these devices over the life of the vehicles are 7,400 tons of hydrocarbons, 347,000 tons of carbon monoxide, and 6,000 tons of nitrogen oxides. This is equivalent to the emissions produced by a half- million cars with fully operational emission control systems over their lifetimes.

 

An oxygen sensor simulator sends a false electronic signal to the car's engine control computer, preventing the "check engine" or "malfunction indicator" light from illuminating. The malfunction light, part of a vehicle's on-board diagnostic (OBD) system, alerts the driver when there is a problem with the emission control system.

 

The EPA is currently investigating other automobile parts manufacturers and sellers that may also be making and selling similar products. EPA has found that some companies are advertising O2 Sims and other defeat devices as a way to enhance a car's performance.

 

The recall required by the settlement requires Casper's to implement a mandatory repurchase program under which it must notify its customers that Casper's will buy back any O2 Sims sold by Casper's or its distributors.

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