Rules on air quality inside cars needed

With bad weather and smoke clouding Beijing for many days in 2011, improving air quality by environmental protection is among the hottest topics this year.

Li Shufu, board chairman of Geely Holding Group, one of China's top auto manufacturers, called for rules and regulations to improve air quality inside cars.

At the ongoing Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference session in Beijing, Li, who is a CPPCC member, submitted a proposal to prevent pollution and improve air quality.

Pollution inside rooms and cars are listed among the five threats to human health. In cars, the pollution mainly comes from chemicals used in producing parts, like paint, glue, plastic and rubber.

In the 1980s and 1990s, the US reported deaths caused by such pollution. In China, the number of cases is rising, too, along with the fast development of the auto industry.

The US and Germany have long controlled the situation through legislation.

China, however, lags far behind. An "evaluation of air quality inside cars" was introduced on Oct 27, 2011, but the document had no legal binding force.

"There was no supervision, no regulation, no standards on air quality inside cars in China," Li told reporters. "Many car owners complained about bad smells inside their new cars."

According to Li, due to an absence of law, it is not unusual for international carmakers to sell lower-standard products in China to cut costs. "That will do great harm to people inside the car."

A survey by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences found that of 50 cars on the market, the average pollution index inside was 255.30 percent above the standard of Singapore.

Li proposed to turn the "standards" into a legally binding document and pressed the government to examine the cars sold in market, so as to improve the air quality inside cars.