CleanAIR Systems, Inc. Awarded Contract to Retrofit City of Seattle Vehicles with Emission Control Systems

Santa Fe, NM- July 15, 2002 - CleanAIR Systems, Inc. has received a contract with the City of Seattle to retrofit more than 100 city-owned vehicles with its ASSURE™ diesel oxidation converter (DOC). The contract requires the retrofit of various types of work vehicles, including street sweepers, vactor trucks, dump trucks, and utility trucks, with CleanAIR's ASSURE™ DOC, which reduces diesel particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon emissions. Seattle-based Western Peterbilt, Inc. will perform the installation of the replacement mufflers.

"CleanAIR Systems is pleased to join forces with the City of Seattle and Western Peterbilt to help improve the air quality in the communities of Seattle," said CleanAIR Systems President Michael Roach. "This retrofit project indicates a major commitment toward creating a cleaner environment in and around Seattle in significant, measurable ways."

The City of Seattle is retrofitting its diesel vehicles as part of the region's Diesel Solutions Program, and as an initiative of its Environmental Action Agenda, launched by Mayor Greg Nickels in April, which aims to reduce diesel emissions from city vehicles by 50 to 90 percent. Last year, city-owned vehicles burned 818,773 gallons of diesel fuel.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and confirmed by Puget Sound Clean Air Agency monitoring, levels of toxic air pollution in the region are among the highest in the country, due in large part to diesel emissions from trucks, buses and ships. By implementing initiatives such as continued retrofitting of diesel vehicles and converting to ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, the city hopes to reduce toxic air pollution substantially by 2005.

CleanAIR Systems, Inc. Awarded Contract for Construction Equipment Retrofit Program

Project will make diesel equipment in Las Vegas Valley dramatically cleaner

Santa Fe, NM - December 10, 2001 - CleanAIR Systems, Inc. recently was awarded a contract to retrofit more than 50 heavy-duty diesel construction vehicles and equipment with its oxidation catalyst/muffler system. The “Diesel Demonstration Project” is the largest construction equipment retrofit project in the West, and the second largest in the nation. Sponsored by the Clark County Department of Air Quality, the project was created as an initiative toward reducing toxic emissions from diesel equipment in the Las Vegas Valley area of Nevada. More than 75 tons of carbon monoxide, 15 tons of volatile organic compounds and 2.2 tons of particulate matter will be eliminated annually.

CleanAIR Systems was selected from among other major manufacturers of emission control systems to supply products for this voluntary program, funded in full by Clark County through a grant provided by the state of Nevada. The product chosen for this project, CleanAIR Systems’ ASSURE™, is a combination oxidation catalyst and muffler system that replaces the engine’s original muffler. ASSURE™ reduces carbon monoxide by more than 95 percent, hydrocarbon (volatile organic compounds) by more than 95 percent and diesel particulate matter by 20 to 50 percent.

“The best thing that could come out of this retrofit project would be for the construction community to gain a familiarization with catalyst technology,” said David Hoch, project manager with the Clark County Department of Air Quality Management. “There are a lot of myths circulating about the side effects of catalytic converters. I want the companies involved in this project to be able to tell other construction companies that the catalytic converters had no bad side effects, that they were easy to install, caused no loss of power to the engine and were maintenance free for a long time.”

Mike Justice, owner of Justice & Associates, served as consultant to the construction companies involved in the project. After having the CleanAIR oxidation catalyst/muffler installed on a vehicle, one company immediately took its ready-mix concrete truck to a testing facility to determine if the device had caused the engine to lose power. According to Justice, testing proved that the device had no impact whatsoever on the engine’s performance.

Seven different companies volunteered for the project: Weaver Construction, Weaver Inc., American Asphalt and Grading Co., Rinker Materials, Nevada Ready Mix, RAMM Corporation and M&M Construction. Equipment such as bulldozers, scrapers, loaders, haul trucks and water trucks were retrofitted for use in a wide variety of road-building and other construction projects throughout Clark County.

“Our clients were interested in becoming better citizens,” Justice said. “They were criticized often for their equipment belching out dirty black smoke on construction sites. They wanted to take a proactive approach to reducing emissions.”

The “Diesel Demonstration Project” targets models of equipment manufactured prior to 1988, which have the heaviest polluting engines. CleanAIR Systems’ ASSURE™ will be installed on many makes and models of engines, including Caterpillar’s 3200, 3300 and 3400 series engines; and various models of engines by Cummins and DDC.

Clark County, one of the fastest growing metropolitan areas in the country, has paid a price for its booming development in the form of air quality. With about 20,000 acres under construction at any given time, the area has acquired a large concentration of diesel construction equipment. The exhaust produced by this equipment contains emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and diesel particulate matter. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified the region as a “serious” nonattainment area for carbon monoxide and particulate matter. The county is on the EPA’s nonattainment list because levels of carbon monoxide and particulate matter persistently exceed the EPA’s maximum allowable concentrations for priority pollutants, above which, adverse health effects may occur.

Emissions from off-road diesel construction vehicles and equipment are currently not regulated in the state of Nevada. Many states, like Nevada, are closely monitoring developments in California, which is finalizing pending rules that could mandate emission control systems on all diesel vehicles. The proposed regulations would go into effect in 2006. Federal EPA rules that will require emissions reductions on heavy-duty diesel engines are expected to go into effect after 2006. According to David Hoch, the Clark County Department of Air Quality Management plans to conduct an emissions inventory and study of the overall diesel issues in Clark County in the near future. The department is considering creating an incentive program to encourage other companies to voluntarily retrofit construction equipment with emission control systems, such as those produced by CleanAIR Systems, before federal regulations go into effect.

“This project is very important to us for two reasons. First, it gives us an opportunity to familiarize equipment owners with our emission control systems. Second, we are able to help the community of Clark County take a big step toward improving its air quality,” said CleanAIR Systems President Michael Roach. “As one of the largest retrofit programs involving construction equipment, it has the potential to serve as an example to other metropolitan areas, demonstrating how diesel equipment can be made dramatically cleaner.

CleanAIR Systems, Inc. Awarded Contract to Retrofit School Buses with Emission Control Systems in Puget Sound

Project will reduce emissions of harmful diesel particulates by more than 90 percent

Santa Fe, NM – November 28, 2001 - CleanAIR Systems, Inc. recently was awarded a contract with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to retrofit school buses with diesel particulate filters and oxidation converters in Everett, Wash. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is funding the Everett Clean Diesel School Bus Retrofit Project, the first voluntary initiative under the agency’s Diesel Solutions Program, through a grant received from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). It is among the first EPA-funded, on-road retrofit projects to be executed.

“We are proud to participate in this project to help the community of Puget Sound improve its air quality,” said CleanAIR Systems President Michael Roach. “By the end of this year, hundreds of Everett school children will be riding to school on some of the cleanest buses in the world.”

CleanAIR Systems was selected from among other major manufacturers of emission control systems to supply products for this pilot program. The company will equip some of the school buses with its PERMIT™ filter, and others with its ASSURE™ converter. The PERMIT™ filter reduces particulate emissions by 85 percent, and carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons by more than 90 percent. The ASSURE™ converter reduces carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons by more than 90 percent, and particulates by 10 to 50 percent. In addition, the buses will be fueled with ultra-low-sulfur fuel. CleanAIR Systems is working with Durham School Services, owner of the bus fleet and the third largest student transportation contractor in the nation, to retrofit the buses by the end of 2001.

“The Everett Clean Diesel School Bus Retrofit Project is very important to us because it will demonstrate how a school bus fleet in our region can be made dramatically cleaner through the use of cleaner fuels and advanced technology retrofit devices,” said Dennis McLerran, executive director of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency. “We are very excited about being able to demonstrate to school districts that these fuels and retrofit devices can make a big difference in how clean their fleets are. There is a growing understanding that diesel exhaust is a health hazard, especially to children, and this project will give very real benefits immediately to the school kids who ride on and play near these buses.”

As part of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s Diesel Solutions Program, the Everett Clean Diesel School Bus Retrofit Project is the first of seven projects to be carried out. The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, which serves King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties in Washington, launched its Diesel Solutions program this year to make diesel vehicles in the region dramatically cleaner. The Diesel Solutions Program aims to reduce particulate emissions by 436 tons per year over the next five years. According to the agency, this would reduce 1,505 cases of respiratory symptoms in asthmatic children annually, and prevent 30 to 34 premature deaths each year.

Until this year, parts of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency’s four-county region had been on the EPA’s nonattainment list because levels of carbon monoxide, ozone and particulate matter persistently exceeded the national ambient air quality standards. The EPA has established maximum concentrations for these priority pollutants, above which adverse health effects may occur. Although no longer classified as nonattainment, the area is now close to exceeding limits for particulate matter and ozone.