United States	Press Office (A-107)
Environmental Protection	Washington DC 20460
Agency
oEPA Environmental
News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
wrtoirsdaV- FF.BRUARY 20, 1980	Casey (202) 755-0344
SEA^ROEBUCK^ITED	The Environmental Protection Agency said today
VIOLATIONS
R- 31
that a Sears Roebuck and Company, Inc. service facility
in Louisiana has violated Agency fuel regulations and
that an administrative civil complaint asking for
$18 9,000 in penalties has been brought against the
Company.
EPA said it knows of 27 occasions when service vans
and a compact station wagon belonging to a Sears
facility in Shreveport, Louisiana, which required
unleaded fuel were fueled with leaded gasoline instead,
causing violations of Federal Unleaded Fuel
Regulations.
Jeffrey G. Miller, Acting Assistant Administrator in
charge of enforcing the standards at EPA said, "This
is in direct conflict with the purpose of the Clean Air
standards. Using leaded gasoline in vehicles that
required unleaded fuel will ruin the catalytic con-
verter, a major emission control device and results
in a substantial increase in emissions of airborne
lead, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons. Automobile
exhaust typically account for approximately ninety
percent of the airborne lead and carbon monoxide
emissions, and at least half of the total hydrocarbon
emissions in urban areas."
Several tanks full of leaded gasoline will totally
destroy the catalytic converter. Replacement cost
for a new converter is about $200. Leaded gas will
plug the exhaust gas recirculation valve and foul
spark plugs causing vehicle owners to spend more
money in the long run to keep their autos properly
tuned.
(more)

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EPA said that fuel switching has been a source of concern at
the Agency for some time. Results of earlier surveys show
as many as 10 percent of the vehicles that needed unleaded
gas were improperly fueled with leaded. At that rate, EPA
said there would be a 30-70 percent increase in auto emissions
from the unleaded vehicle fleet.
"Fuel switching is not new to EPA," said filler. "We have
issued penalties before and we will continue to do so.
These violations by a major commercial fleet operator are of
particular concern to us because of the substantial adverse
air quality impacts which result."
Increased auto emissions can cause very serious health
diseases including brain damage, lung problems, heart strain,
damage to the reproductive and gastrointestinal systems and
poor vision.
In today's complaint against Sears, EPA alleges that ten
company owned fleet vehicles had switched fuels on 24 separate
occasions between September 7, and December 7, 1979 at the
Shreveport facility and three other violations took place at
several area self-service gasoline stations.
Under the law, retail gasoline station operators and fleet
operators with gasoline dispensing facilities can receive a
maximum $10,000 civil penalty each time a violation takes
place.
Violations can range from introducing leaded gasoline by the
use of a funnel or other special device to assist the fueling
operation, interchanging pump nozzles by attaching the
smaller unleaded nozzle which fit unleaded tanks to leaded
pumps, to actually filling unleaded pumps with leaded gasoline
thereby cheating the customers of their request for the
proper fuel.
EPA enforcement teams have been established in Washington,
D.C. and Denver, Colorado to uncover violators of the Agency's
fuel switching regulations and the Federal anti-tampering
law. They are concentrating their inspection activities on
car dealers, automobile repair facilities, muffler shops,
and others who may remove or tamper with the emission control
equipment; and retail gasoline stations operators and operators
of vehicles fleets.
The Sears violations were brought to EPA's attention by a
local concerned citizen.
Sears may request a formal hearing to contest the EPA charges.
EPA may consider actions taken by Sears to correct the
violations and prevent future recurrence before assessing a
final penalty.
R-31
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