The Southland’s air quality agency has approved $7.4 million to install particulate emission filters on more than 1,000 diesel-powered school buses to reduce the cancer risk to children.
"Many school districts do not have funding available to buy new school buses," said Barry Wallerstein, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District. "This action will significantly reduce cancer-causing diesel particulate emissions from these older buses."
AQMD’s Governing Board approval will provide up to $6,500 per bus to install a particulate filter and $500 per bus to cover any incremental cost of purchasing low-sulfur diesel fuel. Buses eligible are 1994 and newer models that have been approved for retrofitting with filters by the California Air Resources Board. The ceramic filters, which reduce particulate emissions by at least 85 percent, must run on low-sulfur diesel to work properly.
The program will provide filters for a total of 1,058 buses at 30 public school districts, five school bus companies and one joint power authority. The funding complies with a recently adopted state law requiring that at least half the money go to areas with the worst air pollution, including low-income or minority communities.
AQMD previously has provided $24.75 million for the purchase of 141 new compressed natural gas-powered and 87 new lower-emission diesel buses.
The State of California has deemed diesel particulate a toxic air contaminant and a major AQMD study found that about 70 percent of the cancer risk from air pollution is due to diesel particulate emissions.
For more information, see the Board agenda item.
In other action on June 7, the Board:
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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This page updated: August 10, 2004
URL: http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/school_bus_traps.htm