Mirenco: Evaluate School Buses on Emissions, Not Model Year
RADCLIFFE, Iowa--June 25, 2003--School districts striving to clear the air from diesel bus exhaust cannot rely only on purchasing new vehicles for their fleets to achieve clean emissions, according to data from Mirenco, Inc.Mirenco (OTCBB:MREO) has established a database of opacity measurements from more than 5,000 diesel school buses. Mirenco's data conclusively shows that late-model buses are not necessarily low emitters of particulate matter, or soot.
On 2003 buses, opacity ranged from 16 percent to zero and from 34 percent to zero for 2002 model buses. The average opacity among all 5,000-diesel school buses in Mirenco's database was 14 percent, including many buses that are 20 years old.
Opacity measures the percentage of light that is blocked by diesel particulate matter, according to an electronic sensor. Opacity ranges from zero, when emissions are clear, to 100 percent blockage due to thick, black smoke.
A 2003 Thomas Built diesel school bus involved in a Mirenco demonstration achieved zero visible emissions only after Mirenco's DriverMax product was installed. Mirenco donated a DriverMax system and the company's technical support for a diesel bus in its hometown of Radcliffe, Iowa. Technicians tested opacity from the bus with and without the DriverMax system in operation, using the Society of Automotive Engineers J1667 testing procedure.
The results were clear - the DriverMax system decreased emissions 100 percent - from 12 percent opacity to zero visible emissions - on a bus with just 9,000 miles.
"Our demonstration and our database show that schools cannot resolve tailpipe emissions problems only from adding new diesel buses to their fleet," said Mirenco CEO Dwayne Fosseen. "Mirenco can help schools clear the air through our DriverMax product and a program of regular emissions testing and engine maintenance."
DriverMax is a solid state, electronic throttle delay and throttle stop that can be programmed with a hand-held computer. The affordable DriverMax system prevents excess, unburned diesel fuel from going out the tailpipe as soot by delivering only as much fuel as the engine can burn.
Mirenco's DriverMax product is unique in the heavy-duty diesel retrofit market, because it attacks the diesel particulate problem at the source, the engine, and prevents the formation of 30 to 50 percent of soot. DriverMax was created through a collaborative partnership between Mirenco and the U.S. Department of Energy's Kansas City Plant.
About Mirenco
Mirenco is a Radcliffe-Iowa-based company that specializes in vehicle management technology for reducing vehicle emissions, improving fuel economy, and lengthening the service life of heavy-duty diesel vehicles. More information is available at www.mirenco.com, via e-mail at info@mirenco.com or by calling 800.423.9903.
Some of the statements made in this press release are forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning Mirenco, Inc. can be found within Mirenco's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Statements in this release should be evaluated in light of this additional information.