Current:Home > reviewsCummins pickup truck engines systematically tricked air pollution controls, feds say -AssetLink
Cummins pickup truck engines systematically tricked air pollution controls, feds say
Chainkeen Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 14:15:58
The United States Department of Justice is slamming an Indiana-based engine manufacturing company with a $1.675 billion penalty in a settlement that says the company violated the federal Clean Air Act.
The department alleges Cummins Inc. installed devices that can bypass emissions sensors on 630,000 RAM pickup truck engines, according to a news release Friday. The whopping financial penalty is the largest ever violation since the law was enacted in 1963 to protect the nation's air quality.
“The types of devices we allege that Cummins installed in its engines to cheat federal environmental laws have a significant and harmful impact on people’s health and safety," wrote Attorney General Merrick B. Garland. He said Cummins' engines caused excess emissions of nitrogen oxides, which can cause asthma and respiratory infections.
The company agreed to pay the $1.675 billion fine to the U.S. and the State of California to settle the claims, according to the Department of Justice. The penalty is the second largest environmental penalty in the history of the nation, according to the Department of Justice.
The company does not admit wrongdoing and says no one in the company acted in bad faith, said Jon Mills, a spokesperson for Cummins Inc. in an email to USA TODAY.
"The company has cooperated fully with the relevant regulators, already addressed many of the issues involved, and looks forward to obtaining certainty as it concludes this lengthy matter," reads a news release from the company.
What is the Department of Justice penalizing Cummins Inc. for?
Cummins Inc. allegedly installed defeat devices on the engines of hundreds of thousands of 2013 to 20199 RAM 2500 and 3500 pickup trucks, according to the Department of Justice. The DOJ also says the company installed defeat devices on the engines of 330,000 newer RAM pickup trucks.
Defeat devices are hardware or software used in vehicles to trick air pollution tests, or bypass emissions controls.
The company said it has since recalled those trucks. It has also "initiated a recall of model years 2013 through 2018 RAM 2500 and 3500 trucks and previously accrued a total of $59 million for the estimated costs for executing these and other related recalls," according to a Friday news release from the company.
Vehicle pollution health effects
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, high emissions of nitrogen oxides, or vehicle pollutions, can get into the air from vehicle emissions and the burning of fuel.
Those emissions "can irritate airways in the human respiratory system," according to the agency.
"Such exposures over short periods can aggravate respiratory diseases, particularly asthma, leading to respiratory symptoms (such as coughing, wheezing or difficulty breathing), hospital admissions and visits to emergency rooms," according to the agency. "Longer exposures to elevated concentrations of NO2 may contribute to the development of asthma and potentially increase susceptibility to respiratory infections."
What is the Clean Air Act?
The Clean Air Act is a federal law that was designed to "protect and improve the nation's air quality and the stratospheric ozone layer," according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.
Congress first enacted the law in 1963 and several major and minor changes have been made to it since its inception. It's the Environmental Protection Agency's role to uphold the law.
Communities facing air pollutionCould get relief as EPA proposes new rules on chemical plants
Contact Kayla Jimenez at [email protected]. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @kaylajjimenez.
veryGood! (4)
Related
- $73.5M beach replenishment project starts in January at Jersey Shore
- Deion Sanders on second season at Colorado: 'The whole thing is better'
- Treasure hunters say they recovered hundreds of silver coins from iconic 1715 shipwrecks off Florida
- Gigi Hadid Gifted Taylor Swift Custom Cat Ring With Nod to Travis Kelce
- $1 Frostys: Wendy's celebrates end of summer with sweet deal
- Elon Musk welcomes third child with Neuralink executive. Here's how many kids he now has.
- Man accused of threatening lives of presidential candidates goes to trial
- Another American arrested in Turks and Caicos over 9 mm ammo in luggage gets suspended sentence of 33 weeks
- 'Meet me at the gate': Watch as widow scatters husband's ashes, BASE jumps into canyon
- Disputed verdict draws both sides back to court in New Hampshire youth detention center abuse case
Ranking
- The Best Stocking Stuffers Under $25
- This week’s televised debate is crucial for Biden and Trump — and for CNN as well
- Ford recalls over 550,000 pickup trucks because transmissions can suddenly downshift to 1st gear
- Cleveland Cavaliers hire Kenny Atkinson as new head coach
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Lawsuit challenges new Louisiana law requiring classrooms to display the Ten Commandments
- Texas A&M baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle pushes back speculation about Texas job
- Conservancy that oversees SS United States seeks $500K to help relocate historic ship
Recommendation
American news website Axios laying off dozens of employees
NHRA legend John Force remains hospitalized in Virginia following fiery crash
Deion Sanders on second season at Colorado: 'The whole thing is better'
Plans for mass shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee office building 'failed,' police say
RFK Jr. closer to getting on New Jersey ballot after judge rules he didn’t violate ‘sore loser’ law
Boeing Starliner return delayed again for spacewalks, study of spacecraft issues
When is Prime Day 2024? Amazon announces dates for summer sales event
Boebert faces first election Tuesday since switching districts and the vaping scandal