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Diesel tank tears up to a diesel tank: environmental risk for Aicha!
A truck accident in Rottal-Inn led to diesel pollution of a stream. The fire brigade and authorities are in action.
Diesel tank tears up to a diesel tank: environmental risk for Aicha!
A strange incident caused a stir in the community of Schönau in the Rottal-Inn district on Monday night. To be precise, it was around 12:15 a.m. when a truck driver drove over a manhole cover that suddenly snapped up and ripped open the vehicle's tank. As idowa.de reports, diesel escaped and flowed into a nearby stream. An incident that set alarm bells ringing for those involved.
The fire brigade was immediately alerted to build an oil lock and thus prevent further contamination of the water. Specialists from the district office and the water management office were also on site to assess the damage and to absorb the expiring fuels with special equipment. A quick action, which is of the utmost importance in such situations.
Environmental protection in the discussion
Such an incident inevitably creates the discussion about the environmental impact of diesel cars and trucks. According to the Federal Environment Agency are the main source of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in our cities. They contribute to about 65 % of the direct NO2 emissions of road traffic. The traffic area in particular is a big factor here and significantly influences air quality.
In order to create a concrete connection to the effects: Diesel vehicles have shown in tests in recent years that older models in particular significantly exceed the limit values for nitrogen oxides. While the Euro 6 diesel cars are around 630 mg NOx/km, the old Euro 4 models with an average of 1,087 mg NOx/km are far above. This problem is reinforced by the increasing number of diesel vehicles.
The balance of emissions
Other considerations also include the carbon footprint. According to 2019 figures, CO2 emissions from newly registered diesel cars were 167.6 g CO2/km, while petrol cars were 157.6 g CO2/km. This shows that, on average, modern diesel cars have worse CO2 values than new petrol cars. At the same time, software updates since 2016 have only minimally reduced NO2 pollution - just 1-2 µg NO2/m³.
This incident in Aicha could now serve as a warning to deal more intensely with the emissions and air quality. After all, the responsibility for a clean environment is both the drivers and manufacturers. As the last events have shown, the infrastructures in public space, such as gully's lid, are not to be neglected when it comes to traffic safety and environmental protection.
It is to be hoped that such unfortunate incidents can be avoided in the future to protect our waters and air quality.