Replace Virginia's oldest school buses with newer, less polluting buses.
 School Buses and Air Quality
Nearly 90% of school buses are powered by diesel fuel. Exhaust from these buses has been linked to serious health consequences in children.
Diesel exhaust contains significant levels of small particles that can pass through natural defense mechanisms like our noses and throats to lodge deep in our lungs.
Diesel pollution can cause lung damage, aggravate asthma or bronchitis and even cause premature death. Some chemicals in diesel exhaust are also known endocrine disrupters and may play a role in developmental disorders. Children are more susceptible to air pollution than healthy adults because their respiratory systems are still developing and they have a faster breathing rate. On average students spend an hour and a half each weekday in a school bus.
Children can be exposed to diesel exhaust when they are on or near an idling bus. Studies show that particle pollution levels can be four times higher for those on the bus than for a car driving in front of the bus. Diesel exhaust can reach dangerous levels around and inside buses when idling while waiting to pick up students. Exhaust can also travel into school buildings if idling buses are near doorways, windows or the air intake for the school's ventilation system.
Every school day, more than 24 million children across the United States board a school bus to ride to school. To reduce student, faculty and driver exposure to diesel pollution, the American Lung Association of Virginia supports the following actions:
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Encourage policies and practices at Virginia schools to eliminate unnecessary school bus idling;
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Upgrade buses that will remain in the school's fleet with better emission control technologies
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Replace Virginia's oldest school buses with newer, less polluting buses.
Pollution control devices to capture diesel pollution include:
Diesel Oxidation Catalysts use a chemical process to break down pollutants in the exhaust stream into less harmful components. Diesel oxidation catalysts can reduce emissions of particle pollution by 20 percent, hydrocarbons by 50 percent, and carbon monoxide by 40 percent.
Oxidation catalysts cost about $600 to $2000 and can be installed on any new or used bus in about 1 to 3 hours.
Diesel Particulate Matter Filters are ceramic devices that collect particulate matter in the exhaust stream. The high temperature of the exhaust heats the ceramic structure and allows the particles inside to break down into less harmful components. They can be installed on new and used buses, but must be used in conjunction with ultra-low sulfur diesel. The combination of PM filters and cleaner fuel can reduce emissions of particle matter, hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide by 60 to 90 percent.
PM filters come in a kit that includes mounting brackets and an electronic monitoring device. The cost of the kit can range from $5,000 to $10,000. PM filters work best on engines built after 1995. Installation of a filter takes about 6 to 9 hours.
Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (USLD) will be available nationwide in October 2006. The primary purpose is to enable or improve the performance of after-treatment technologies such as a PM filter.
The following Virginia school districts have cleaned up their school bus fleets: Fairfax, Frederick, Harrisonburg, Henrico, Hopewell, Loudoun, Norfolk, Richmond, Roanoke, Rockingham, and Winchester. These school districts have used EPA grants and State Environmental Project (SEP) funds from enforcement actions to clean up their fleets. While we continue to support school bus clean ups using grant funding and SEPs, we believe Virginia needs to dedicate funds to support faster school bus clean ups.
These new funds can be used to create incentives for local governments and/or directly fund school bus retrofits as well as the purchase of clean buses that can run on compressed natural gas (CNG) or use hybrid motor technology.
Experts suggest that a school bus fleet clean up should target at least one third of the fleet for retrofits to reduce air emissions. Using the least expensive retrofit technology available to replace one third of Virginia's school bus fleet would cost the Commonwealth approximately $12.5 million. This amount includes staff support for three years to direct statewide implementation. An additional $15.3 million can support the purchase of CNG or hybrid school buses to provide additional emission reductions.
Anti-idling policies should also be adopted by local school districts to reduce air pollution. A sample policy has been developed by the American Lung Association of Virginia for dissemination to elected officials, state administration officials, local school districts, school boards, and other interested stakeholders.
Commonwealth Clean School Bus Campaign Resources:
Clean School Bus Campaign Flyer
School Bus Clean Up Budget Flyer
Clean School Bus Anti-Idling Sample Policy
American Lung Association: Diesel Exhaust and Air Pollution
http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=36089
Other Related Resources:
Natural Resources Defense Council: What Parents Need to Know about Diesel School Buses http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/qbus.asp
Environmental Protection Agency: Clean School Bus USA http://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus/
Union of Concerned Scientists: School Bus Pollution Report Card 2006 http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/big_rig_cleanup/clean-school-bus-pollut
ion.html
Natural Resources Defense Council: No Breathing in the Aisles, Diesel Exhaust in School Buses http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/schoolbus/sbusinx.asp
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