Manufacturers To Study Catalytic Converter Issue

Briggs & Stratton is joining other manufacturers in funding a study to look into the issue of placing catalytic converters on lawn and garden equipment to reduce air pollution, the Associated Press reports.

Federal regulators want to issue nationwide rules this year that would limit pollution from small engines. But engine manufacturers say installation of catalytic converters will contribute to fires and raise production costs by 30 percent.

Industry leaders are taking their concerns over catalytic converters to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, after an EPA study recently found that it was safe to install the devices.

"We expect this to be a full and complete study, which we did not think the EPA study was," says Patricia Hanz, a spokeswoman for Briggs & Stratton in Milwaukee. "We do support it and we do think the study needs to be done by an independent third party that doesn't have a vested interest in the outcome, which EPA did."