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Background
High emissions of toxic air pollutants
and fine particles from diesel buses and trucks contaminate
our air and endanger our health. Pennsylvania has the seventh
highest emissions of diesel soot nationwide. In the Philadelphia
region, road congestion and major fleets of public transit
buses, school buses, delivery trucks and over-the-road trucks
provide the recipe for a significant diesel air quality
problem. A report by a national association of air pollution
control officials found that diesel exhaust is responsible
for more than 3,000 cancers in the Philadelphia metropolitan
area over a lifetime.
The Diesel Rules
The Council commented upon and supported
the Diesel Engine and Low-Sulfur Diesel Fuel rule proposed
by former EPA Administrator Carol Browner in December 2000
and adopted in 2002 by former Administrator Whitman. The
heavy duty diesel vehicle rules begin to take effect in
2006 and phase in over several years.
Low sulfur diesel fuel should have immediate
positive impacts in 2006, and deeper reductions in diesel
emissions are expected as the required cleaner engine technologies
apply to various types of new diesel engines beginning in
2007 and finishing in 2012. The introduction of these cleaner
engines will slowly transform the fleet of diesel trucks
on the road.
Some industry observers project that the
big reductions in emissions will be delivered over a longer
period of time than EPA anticipates. There is concern that
fleet owners will ramp up purchasing of heavy duty diesel
vehicles just before the new clean engine rules take effect
in order to avoid higher price tags. Big rigs can stay on
the road much longer than automobiles, with lifespans of
20 years or more. Consequently, more of the fleet will retain
pre-rule engine technology for longer.
Such purchasing trends are not illegal,
and there may be nothing that can be done about it. Still,
a Congress so inclined could institute favorable tax credits
for trucks purchased in the first two years of the new engine
standards to provide an incentive for companies to not try
to "game" the system.
The Council has also commented in
support of a non-road diesel engine and fuel rule recently
proposed by EPA. Non-road diesel engines are the biggest
source of air emissions yet to be regulated under the Clean
Air Act. These engines are used in a wide range of capacities,
such as: construction equipment, farm equipment, generators,
trains, barges and ships. The Council recommended the inclusion
of vessels and trains in EPA's rule, currently under exemption
in the proposed rule. The Council also intends to oppose
any weakening of the proposal.
See the following diesel rule comments:
Clean Air Council Diesel Programs
In addition, Clean Air Council is actively
working toward local solutions that can diminish the emissions
and health risks associated with diesel. The Council has
two initiatives it is working on to solve the problem of
diesel exhaust pollution in the Greater Philadelphia region.
First, the Council has partnered with
Philadelphia's Air Management Services to promote voluntary
diesel retrofits for heavy duty vehicles. Retrofits encompass
a variety of measures vehicle operators can take to clean
up their diesel emissions: installating pollution control
devices like oxidation catalysts and particulate traps,
reducing sulfur content in diesel fuel, using alternative
fuels to diesel such as biodiesel or natural gas and decreasing
the time spent idling. You can find out more about diesel
retrofits by jumping to the EPA's
website.
One of the difficulties in convincing
heavy duty fleets to implement a diesel retrofit is the
cost involved. Although for certain types of fleets, such
as school bus and municipal vehicles, government funding
is available to cover retrofit costs, for most private fleets
there are no viable financial incentives. The Council is
working on establishing a public recognition program for
those trucks and buses that employ retrofits. Such recognition
would bring positive attention to the fleets and engender
goodwill from the community, which the Council believes
can be a persuasive consideration for fleet managers looking
into diesel retrofits. Please check back soon to find out
more information on this program.
Second, Clean Air Council is active with
other groups such as PennPIRG on a dump diesel campaign.
The goal of the campaign is to convince South East Pennsylvania
Transit Authority (SEPTA) to phase out the use of dirty
diesel powered city buses in favor of compressed natural
gas buses. The dump diesel campaign reported in June 2000
that SEPTA's 1,300 buses annually emit more than 3.75 million
pounds of smog-causing NOX, 44,000 pounds of toxic soot
particles and 397 million pounds of CO2. Therefore, the
dump diesel campaign is attempting to urge SEPTA to convert
its entire fleet to CNG buses by 2020. SEPTA is opposed
to the change saying it would cost too much to build new
fueling facilities.
Although SEPTA has begun to address our
concerns by using $8 million in federal and state grants
it received to purchase and incorporate into its fleet 12
hybrid electric diesel buses, much more can be done. Los
Angeles Metropolitan Transport Authority (LACTMA) currently
run a fleet of 2440 buses of which 41% are compressed natural
gas buses. By 2005 LACTMA have committed to converting 99%
of its fleet to CNG buses. New York Metropolitan Transit
Authority (MTA) has pledged to reduce its toxic emissions
by 95% by buying 250 more hybrid vehicles, 300 more natural
gas vehicles, and advanced pollution control devices.
Clean Air Council is developing a public education campaign
around diesel emissions. There is a strong need in Pennsylvania
at this time to develop an education and training campaign
that will inform the public and government officials of
the dangers faced everyday by breathing the fumes of dirty
diesel vehicles. Clean Air Council has built solid ties
with community groups, environmental groups, health advocates,
government agencies, academia, and the media to create a
strong constituency around alternative fueled vehicles.
Clean Air Council Diesel Materials
Find out more about Diesel: how it works,
its emissions, its effects on human health, some alternative
fuel options, and school bus pollution from Clean Air Council's
Diesel fact sheets:
Download the diesel factsheets:
Also consult the following related
materials:
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