Dangers of school bus diesel fumes; action needed

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STUDY SHOWS DANGERS OF SCHOOL BUS DIESEL FUMESDate: 020207From: http://www.newsday.com/Associated Press, February 7, 2002 New Haven, Conn. - School bus fumes may be to blame for the dramaticrise in asthma and other chronic respiratory illnesses among childrenacross the country, according to a study. The study, which was released Thursday, was done by researchers fromthe Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Environment andHuman Health Inc. and the University of Connecticut. According to their report, children breathe school bus engine exhaustabout 180 hours a year in the United States. For the thousands of children with asthma and other respiratoryillnesses, exposure to diesel exhaust and the chemicals in it is causefor concern, Wargo, a researcher at the Yale School of Forestryand Environmental Studies, said. "We're not telling parents to keep kids off the bus," Wargo said. "Weare saying the ride to school could be healthier." The study calls on state and federal environmental authorities tocrack down immediately on school bus emissions. Wargo said components of diesel exhaust damage genes, cause mutationsand can produce symptoms of allergy, including inflammation andirritation of the airways Exposure is worst when buses are lined up idling, picking up anddropping off students, and when buses are moving through heavytraffic, researchers found. Keeping bus windows closed increased theexposure.Wargo and the other researchers tested 75 bus runs. During 27 busruns along a rural experimental route with light traffic, all dieselbuses had interior concentrations of emissions exceeding the state's24-hour background rate for fine particles.The highest concentrations exceeded background levels by nearly 10times. Diesel fuel also contains 40 chemicals listed as hazardous airpollutants under the federal Clean Air Act. The state Department of Environmental Protection last month announceda pilot program to reduce diesel emissions from school buses throughthe use of low emissions fuels and pollution control features. The Clean School Bus Program will debut in Norwich during the 2002-2003 school year. The DEP and Connecticut School Transportation Association also signedan agreement Jan. 4 to limit the amount of time buses can sit withtheir engines running while waiting to pick up students at schools.==^================================================================