WVU President Gee says Volkswagen emissions study is great exposure

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — WVU President Gordon Gee said a recent study by a research team at the university that showed Volkswagen vehicles were releasing more emissions than when they were when tested for certification in a lab has been great exposure.

“That’s fabulous. We’ve been in every major newspaper in the world literally,” Gee said. “Our faculty of course were doing their work. That kind of research is incredibly important. It shows the impact of the university’s research on the day-to-day well being of our citizens.”

A story broke two weeks ago of how Volkswagen cheated to make its diesel-fueled vehicles meet emissions standards in the lab despite not performing as well while being driven.

Last week, the federal EPA released a letter sent to manufacturers notifying them that the agency is adding to its confirmatory testing additional evaluations designed to look for potential defeat devices, which turn off emissions controls on the road, but turns them on in the lab.

“This is one of those occasions where our research clearly led to a very significant finding, and we’re very proud of that,” said Gee.

WVU found one vehicle had 15 to 35 times more emissions during testing and another five to 20 times, resulting in higher pollution levels than what the company said. Volkswagen has recalled the vehicles and admitted to their wrongdoing.

Gee described how WVU was chosen to do the study.

“We have one of the leading authorities in the world on this kind of emissions standards. It was out of California that we were asked to do this kind of study because we’re better at it than anyone else,” he said. “Quality begets quality opportunities.”

As a result, Volkswagen faces fines and possible criminal charges. The company’s U.S. leader, Michael Horn, admitted last week in New York that the company “totally screwed up.”





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