In-car air quality damping standard or in June

On March 19th, FAW-Volkswagen and Audi again tested the “Modified Petroleum Asphalt Damping Sheets” produced by Audi in China and Germany. The results showed that formaldehyde, haze, and total carbon (VOC) were all qualified. Moreover, the emission material absolutely does not contain PAHs and other polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon carcinogens, and the quality of the damping sheet produced in both countries is exactly the same.

This is actually FAW-VW Audi's response to CCTV's report on March 19th. On the same day, CCTV's “strange smell in luxury cars” report pointed out that some of the damping sheets used by Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi and other luxury cars all contained No. 70 asphalt. And based on this speculation: may release toxic and harmful gases.

After the CCTV exposure, the three major luxury car companies issued a statement, saying that they attach great importance to this matter and will carry out in-depth investigations and timely release of the survey results. Five days later, FAW-Volkswagen Audi showed its attitude toward the asphalt damper incident in the form of customer service calls. BMW and Mercedes have not disclosed their findings as of the time of the press release.

Asphalt damper, also known as asphalt damper, is a kind of damping material used in the car to prevent shock, reduce noise and heat insulation. According to a survey by the reporter, in addition to individual high-end cars and buses in China, most cars use asphalt-based damping materials.

"This is actually a traditional process. In addition to asphalt dampening panels commonly used in domestic cars, cars produced in foreign countries have not disappeared from the use of this material." China Automobile Industry Association, which has many years of research in the domestic auto parts industry, associates Secretary-General Dong Jianping told reporters.

So, is the asphalt damper plate the “melamine” in the car? Why has the Ashkenazi luxury car, which has been highly praised by the Chinese people, fall into the “air quality door” in China?

The investigation of odor evidence The topic of car odor is not arising from this year's March 15 action. As early as 1996, Zhou Guangya, a senior engineer at the Automotive Technology Center of China National Heavy Duty Truck Technology Center, publicly disclosed that the damper plate would release high carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. For the first time, the hazard of the asphalt damping plate was made public, but this The topic has always been controversial in the industry.

“The asphalt damper plate is not the main source of car odor in the end. There is not yet sufficient evidence to prove it.” In Dong Jianping’s eyes, the interior of the car is like the interior decoration. In addition to the damper plate, the instrument panel, carpet, and door inside the car Components such as interior trims, ceilings, seat assemblies, and automotive wiring harnesses can release harmful gases.

The bitumen is a brownish-black organic gel-like substance. Generally speaking, it is harmful to the human body, but the premise is that under the effect of high temperature, that is, when the asphalt is in the liquid or semi-liquid state, it will produce harmful odor to the human body. Under the shade or general sunlight, the harm is less. “For example, after asphalting the road and solidifying, we basically cannot smell the odor,” explains Han, who works in a joint-venture vehicle technology department.

At present, the types of asphalt are also divided into natural asphalt, petroleum asphalt and coal tar pitch. Among them, coal tar pitch is the most dangerous and contains carcinogenic benzopyrene. The petroleum asphalt is much less hazardous than coal tar pitch. In the production process, the distillation temperature is generally above 400 degrees Celsius and the volatile components are relatively small. Therefore, its carcinogenicity has been controversial. Natural asphalt is generally considered to be basically non-toxic.

Since the type of asphalt is closely related to the volatility of toxic gases, it is of utmost importance to use what kind of asphalt as the material of the damping plate. At the same time, because it is difficult to prove that the asphalt damping plate is the only factor affecting the air quality in the car, this traditional process has been popular in China for more than two decades until the report of CCTV became compelling.

In fact, FAW-Volkswagen Audi has not considered that the asphalt damping plate has affected the air quality in the car. In its customer service answer, the use of rubber-containing butyl rubber sheets “Modified Petroleum Asphalt Damping Sheets” was repeatedly mentioned. They believe that the damper is fully compliant with Audi's global standards, is environmentally friendly, and has no harmful gases.

Audi customer service also specifically reminded reporters that if there were still odors in the car, it was recommended that owners observe the attachments of non-Audi vehicles leaving the factory and observe them for a period of time. These accessories include: floor mats, seat cushions, floor glue and perfumes. The implication is that the odor problem in Audi's car may come from the accessory products that the owner owns.

The air quality in the car is only recommended because of the many factors affecting the air quality in the car. Therefore, in some developed countries, all manufacturers have strict environmental standards in the procurement and use of raw materials and spare parts, and they are controlled from the source. The source of air pollutants.

In the United States, for example, the EPA requires that the materials used by automobile manufacturers must be declared and must be reviewed by the environmental protection department to ensure that the environment and human harm are at a minimum before they can be used. Once the applicant violates the regulations, he will face heavy fines. , And to recall the product to clean up the pollution, the principal responsible person may even be sentenced.

In Germany, the EPA and the German Automobile Manufacturers Association jointly developed the "Inside Vehicle Environment Standard in Germany", which stipulates that the automobile itself, the plastic parts installed in the car, carpets, roofing felt, sofas, etc. must comply with the German "Blue Sky" “Environmental protection signs require that benzene, formaldehyde, acetone, and xylene contained in decorative materials such as interior trims, seat cushions, adhesives, etc. must be lower than the “European environmental standards for third-class cars”, and must pass toxic air before sales. Release period.

In China, there is no mandatory standard for the control of the environmental protection of interior accessories except the Recommended Standard for Air Quality Assessment in Passenger Cars published in March 2012.

The staff of the Automotive Standardization Institute of China Automotive Technology and Research Center told reporters that at present, the control standards for volatile substances in cars are still mostly based on corporate standards. The joint venture car companies have many references to foreign car companies.

Taking Jilin Jidan Tenda Damping Material Co., Ltd. as an example, the asphalt damping plates produced by the company are supplied by FAW-Volkswagen, FAW Car, Southeast Auto, Chery Automobile, JAC, etc., for different manufacturers' requirements. The reference standards for products include different versions of Volkswagen, Mitsubishi, Mazda, GM, and BMW.

For example, Shanghai Volkswagen is implementing the VW50180 standard of German Volkswagen for air quality in cars. The standard controls the formaldehyde content to 1mg/100g, and the national indoor air quality standard limits formaldehyde to 9mg/100g. The main reference for the formulation of the “Guide to Air Quality Assessment for Passenger Cars” promulgated last year is the National Indoor Air Quality Standard.

“In fact, if the major car companies are all referenced to the standards of foreign car companies, the air quality within the car should be able to be controlled within a reasonable range, but due to the lack of mandatory standards in this respect, production in China depends on self-discipline. The car manufacturers of auto interior parts will often relax their demands. Some multinational car companies may also adopt two sets of domestic and foreign standards, said the staff of the above-mentioned steaming research center.

According to public statistics, of the 60 models tested in Guangdong in reference to the indoor air quality standards in January 2009, 50 contained varying degrees of pollution. Only 17 of the 100 cars seized by relevant agencies in Shanghai reached the national indoor standard.

Vehicle damping standards or the introduction of the "Asphalt Damping Board" incident in the high-speed vehicle in June revealed that some unreported domestic automakers have begun to look for alternatives to automotive damping panels.

“Not long ago, an independent brand car company called me and said that they are studying the use of environmentally friendly materials instead of asphalt damping plate.” However, Dong Jianping worried about such positive corporate behavior, because of the lack of standards to get it. "If there is no mandatory standard guarantee, the improvement of damping plate materials will inevitably bring about an increase in cost, and companies will be profit-driven. Even if they have environmental awareness, under the conditions of market competition, they will also produce bad money to drive out good money. result."

The staff of the Institute for Standardization of Steam Research Center revealed that the center is currently planning related standards for automotive damping plates. "After all, the Guidelines for the Evaluation of Air Quality in Passenger Cars only stipulate eight types of emission standards for hazardous substances. Because it is a recommended standard, it has limited binding power to the industry."

In fact, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued an announcement on December 28 last year that 681 industry standards, including the automotive industry standards, have been approved. The automotive industry standards that will be implemented on June 1 this year include automotive damping film standards.

It is understood that the automotive damping film standard numbered HG/T4384-2012 specifies the terms, definitions, product classifications, technical requirements, test methods, and inspection rules for automotive damping films. It is applicable to the use of modified asphalt as the main material. Made of hot-melt, self-adhesive and magnetic damping films for different body parts.

However, from the numbering point of view, the standard still belongs to the recommended industry standard, and the question of how much the asphalt damping panel industry has to do is still a question mark.