Idling school buses worse than re-starting

May

In case you havenÃ¢â‚¬â„¢t heard, the results of a new EPA study concluded that idling school buses is actually worse than re-starting the vehicles. The EPA studied school bus exhaust levels when the buses were parked but engines kept running and calculated the benefits from turning them off for various periods and then restarting them, an agency press release said. The study concluded that idling for more than three minutes generates more pollution than stopping and re-starting the engine Ã¢â‚¬â€ debunking a widely held belief of some drivers. Turning the engine off cuts carbon monoxide, fine particles, nitrogen oxide, and carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas. “Pollution from school buses has health implications for everyone, especially asthmatic children,” said Alan J. Steinberg, EPA Regional Administrator. “This study shows in no uncertain terms that allowing a bus to idle exposes children to more pollution and shows that a very simple step Ã¢â‚¬â€ shutting off that engine Ã¢â‚¬â€ can really make a difference.” Under the study, EPA measured the pollution from six buses owned and operated by the Katonah-Lewisboro School District of New York. The level of pollution from buses that idled for more than three minutes was 66 percent higher in fine particles than pollution generated from shutting off the buses and then re-starting them. Diesel exhaust particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and pose serious health risks, including aggravating the symptoms of asthma and other respiratory problems in healthy individuals. The Northeast has some of the highest asthma rates in the nation, including childhood asthma rates near 12 percent in areas of New York City, the EPA said.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 30th, 2007 at 4:55 pm by Laura Incalcaterra.
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One Response to “Idling school buses worse than re-starting”

Zooomabooma June 3rd, 2007 at 12:56 pm
Someone oughta take the initiative and follow Mayor Bloomberg’s lead (requiring taxis to be hybrid by 2012) and require every public school bus in a state to be hybrid by a certain date in the future.

Why’s that not being worked on?!?!?

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