Today marks the launch of an innovative new program that will address student exposure to dangerous diesel pollution in school buses serving the Pittsburgh Public Schools. The Pittsburgh Healthy School Bus Fund now has the first $500,000 to retrofit school buses with filtering devices that will reduce fine particulate matter emissions by at least 85 percent. These funds will be available at no cost to the school district, or the school bus contractors who own the buses.
The Heinz Endowments has generously provided the initial seed money for the fund, and organizers are working to secure additional funds from government and corporate sources. "We are excited to support this kind of collaboration that marries innovative approaches with real health benefits for the people of Pittsburgh, especially the children," said Ellen Dorsey, the Endowments' Environment program officer. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Allegheny County Health Department, and the Environmental Protection Agency are possible additional contributors.
The Healthy School Bus Fund is a joint project of the Pittsburgh Public Schools, the Heinz Endowments, Clean Water Action, Group Against Smog and Pollution, and the Clean Air Task Force. This collaboration is aimed at reducing childhood exposure to diesel particulate emissions, which can have wide-ranging health impacts, including reduced lung function, asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, cancer and even premature death. While school bus transport remains the safest way for kids to get to and from school, recent studies have shown that dangerous particulate matter from diesel engines accumulates inside the school bus cabin and reaches levels that are five to 10 times more potent than the outdoor air. This is an especially critical issue for children because their immature lungs are 2.5 times more susceptible to diesel pollution than adult lungs. Retrofits available today in the form of diesel particulate filters and closed crankcase systems can virtually eliminate that problem.
The fund will be administered through a rebate program, which will simplify the application process, and allow the saved administrative costs to go toward retrofitting more buses and reducing more pollution.
"To my knowledge, this is the first project of its kind," said Rachel Filippini, executive director of the Group Against Smog and Pollution. "Other retrofit projects have been done, but never on such a large scale, with such a diverse funding plan." The Pittsburgh Public Schools have the largest fleet of school buses in Allegheny County with a total of approximately 350 buses.
"The Pittsburgh project has broad relevance," said Brooke Suter, the national campaign director for the Clean Air Task Force. "The win-win approach of the rebate program provides a streamlined process that saves money and reduces more air pollution a concept that can be easily replicated in other states for a cumulatively significant effect."
"Kids in Pittsburgh deserve to arrive at school healthy, and ready to learn. The Pittsburgh Healthy School Bus Fund will take us one step closer to that goal," said Ashleigh Deemer, program organizer at Clean Water Action. Based on national figures, it is estimated that diesel pollution triggers thousands of asthma attacks and hundreds of heart attacks in the Pittsburgh area each year. By retrofitting school buses and other vehicles, a number of these cases can be prevented, instead of needing to be treated.
The school bus project in Pittsburgh is part of a comprehensive effort by the Allegheny County Partnership to Reduce Diesel Pollution, coordinated by Clean Water Action and the Group Against Smog and Pollution, to reduce deadly diesel pollution from all sectors (waste haulers, trucks, buses, locomotives, etc). Their goals are consistent with the National Partnership to Reduce Diesel Pollution, a multi-state campaign whose aim is to reduce diesel pollution overall by 40 percent by the year 2012, 55 percent by 2015 and 70 percent by the year 2020. Pittsburgh received a ranking of 2nd worse in air pollution nationally, and reducing diesel pollution is a key part of the solution.
M. J. Bradley & Associates is the technical administrator on this project. To download the full materials for the Pittsburgh Healthy School Bus Fund, please visit: http://www.dieselretrofitrebate.org.
