Check it Out!

Does your gas cap leak? Are your tires underinflated? Does it matter?

Yes! Most people don’t realize that 30 gallons of gasoline and about 200 pounds of evaporative emissions can be released every year from a leaking gas cap. This contributes to air pollution and wastes fuel. Also, a vehicle’s gas mileage decreases 4 percent for every missing pound of tire pressure.

I'm still not convinced...

In North Carolina each year, air pollution leads to an estimated 3,000 premature deaths; 6,000 hospital admissions for respiratory disease and another 2,000 for cardiovascular disease; and 1,500 new cases of asthma and 2,500 cases of chronic bronchitis in adults. Asthma, lung cancer, Hodgkin’s disease and heart attacks have all been scientifically linked to traffic-related air pollution.

The number one cause of ground-level ozone, a significant air pollutant, is car emissions. Reducing car emissions can ultimately reduce the amount of ground-level ozone and improve air quality.

How do I know if my gas cap is leaking?

The Center for the Environment at Catawba College and its partners have been recently promoting gas cap checks and free replacements around the Rowan and Cabarrus County area. We have offered the free check and replacement of faulty or missing gas caps at community events.

The most frequently used name for these events is an “Emissions Event.” But you may be asking yourself, “What is an emissions event?”

First and foremost, the event involves a very organized team of well skilled professionals who assist in specific tasks such as gas cap check, tire pressure check, and emissions check. The entire process takes less than five minutes for a participant to complete. It’s hard to pass up: It’s quick, easy and free!

Several stations are set up during the event to help move traffic along. As participants pull into the first station, their gas caps are removed (they may need to “pop” their gas cap door) and the pressure is checked to determine whether or not the cap is leaking.

As the gas cap is being pressurized, more team members surround the car to check tire pressure. This is putting the term “team work” into action. If the cap is not leaking and the tire pressure is accurate for its make and model, then it passes and the vehicle moves on. If the cap and tire pressure fail, then the cap is replaced for free, and the vehicle moves to another area to receive free proper tire inflation. There have been incidences where our team does not have the appropriate gas cap for a certain make and model; in these cases we mail the appropriate gas cap free of charge. 

In addition, the event will provide information about the fuel savings and health benefits of replacing a gas cap and properly inflating your tires and you will receive a tire pressure reminder card.

One more reason to check it out!

Together we could save $23 billion a year if everyone in the U.S. had his or her tires properly inflated, according to the Department of Transportation, and 147 million gallons of gasoline from replaced gas caps, according to the U.S. Car Care Council.