To the Editor:
Re "Catching Up With S.U.V.'s" (editorial, Nov. 17):
Lowering the sulfur content of gasoline will not only make catalytic converters work more efficiently, but it will also reduce the sulfur-containing gases and particles that motor vehicles cause us to breathe, including sulfuric acid droplets. Such pollution has been associated in my and others' research with premature deaths and increased hospital admissions.
Last year I served as chairman of the health effects panel of a Canadian industry-government study on sulfur in gasoline and diesel fuels.
It found that the added refining costs of removing sulfur from fuels were much less than the monetary valuation of the health benefits associated with the resulting cleaner air.
As you note, the Canadian Government has acted to lower the content of sulfur in gasoline. The sulfur in diesel fuels is also being reduced in Canada.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency should similarly implement nationwide limits on the sulfur content of gas and diesel fuels.
GEORGE D. THURSTON
Highland Mills, N.Y., Nov. 17, 1998The writer is an associate professor of environmental medicine at New York University.
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