California and the West : State Adopts Regulation to Make Gasoline Cans More Airtight

Gas cans will no longer leak large volumes of smog-forming gases under a state regulation adopted Thursday by the California Air Resources Board.

The new standard is the only one in the nation aimed at the small, portable containers that people use to store gasoline. Approved in a unanimous vote after a 4 1/2-hour hearing, it is the first major smog measure to be adopted by the air board under the Gray Davis administration.

Gas cans are considered a significant source of smog-causing emissions because most of the containers are made of thin, permeable plastic that allows unburned hydrocarbons to evaporate. Also, people often spill gasoline while filling or emptying them.

Beginning in 2001, gas cans sold in California must be equipped with a variety of parts that are supposed to cut emissions 73%, or 70 tons a day by 2010. People will not have to get rid of their old cans, although the board asked its staff to come up with ideas, such as rebates, to encourage people to turn them in.

New cans must meet permeability standards. They also must be equipped with automatic shut-off devices to prevent overflows and with spouts that close automatically. Vents will be prohibited, and most cans must meet a certain flow rate.

For California consumers, the price tag to comply is expected to reach $19 million a year. The gas cans, now priced at $3 to $4 apiece, will probably double or triple in price, air board officials said.

No cans manufactured today meet the new standards.

John Kowichezk, owner of EnviroCan, a small manufacturer based in Portland, Ore., told the board that the measure will drive him out of business because he cannot afford to make a can to comply with the requirements. Some companies sought a delay until 2002 or later because they worried that they will have trouble making less permeable containers.

Air board officials said that all the components needed to meet the new standards are already commercially available on some cans.

California, which has the nation’s smoggiest air, frequently leads the way in forcing the redesign of polluting products--from cars to paint to hair spray.

Every day in the state, gas cans--used mostly to refuel lawn equipment--spew 87 tons of smog-forming hydrocarbons, equivalent to 1 million average cars, according to the air board’s estimate. The emissions account for roughly 4% of the Los Angeles Basin’s total smog-forming hydrocarbons.