http://www.ehhi.org/diesel/pr_diesel1.html
Children's Exposure to Diesel Exhaust on School Buses
Environment and Human Health, Inc.
1191 Ridge Road North Haven, Connecticut 06473 Phone: (203) 248-6582
Fax: (203) 288-7571
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
PRESS RELEASE
DIESEL EXHAUST
FACTS
áDiesel Exhaust is comprised of recognized toxic substances
áAnnually, U.S. children spend 3 billion hours on school buses
áAir quality indoors and within vehicles is not regulated by EPA or
the State of Connecticut, while Americans spend on average between
80-90% of their time indoors.
áDiesel Exhaust Contains 40 Hazardous Air Pollutants
Hartford, CT, Feb. 7, 2002-A groundbreaking report on children's
exposures to diesel exhaust from their school buses is being released
today by Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI), a non-profit
organization composed of doctors, public health professionals and
policy experts dedicated to protecting human health from
environmental harms.
Nancy Alderman, President of Environment and Human Health, Inc.,
said, "With asthma rates rising in this state and across the country
and with diesel exhaust exacerbating the disease as well as causing
inflammation of the airways, it seems extremely important that we
take a closer look at what are the actual diesel exhaust exposures to
children from their school buses."
The lead author of the research team, John Wargo, Ph.D., Professor of
Risk Analysis and Environmental Policy at Yale University's School of
Forestry and Environmental Studies and Department of Political
Science, said, "Children are exposed to diesel exhaust from school
buses at levels far above those predicted by current government
monitoring efforts." The team collected data using small portable
monitors carried by children through their school days. Air quality
monitoring was conducted by the University of Connecticut's
Environmental Research Institute.
The research team found that fine particulate concentrations (PM2.5)
measured on diesel buses were often 5-10 times higher than average
levels measured at the 13 fixed-site PM2.5 monitoring stations in
Connecticut. Levels of fine particles and black carbon were higher
under certain circumstances: when buses were idling with doors or
windows opened; when buses moved through intense traffic; when buses
followed other diesel vehicles; and especially when buses were queued
to load or unload students while idling. Particle and black carbon
levels on buses powered by natural gas were not distinguishable from
background levels.
David Brown, Sc.D., a toxicologist with the Northeast States for
Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM) and study collaborator,
said, "Diesel exhaust is comprised of very fine particles of carbon
and a mixture of gases, including benzene, formaldehyde, 1,3-
butadiene and acetaldehyde. These are well-recognized toxic
substances. Most federal health authorities, including the National
Toxicology Program and the EPA, have designated the components of
diesel exhaust as human carcinogens. They are also genotoxic,
mutagenic, and can produce symptoms of allergy, including
inflammation and irritation of airways."
The Environmental Protection Agency adopted new diesel regulations in
2000. The revised rules will eventually require reduced emissions
from newer engines and the use of ultra low sulfur fuel. The rules
will not be fully implemented until 2010, and even then older diesel
vehicles will still be in use. In announcing the new requirements the
Agency said, "Today's action will prevent 8,300 premature deaths,
5,500 cases of chronic bronchitis, and 17,600 cases of acute
bronchitis in children. It will also avoid over 360,000 asthma
attacks and more than 386,000 cases of respiratory symptoms in
asthmatic children annually. The action will prevent 1.5 million lost
work days, 7,100 hospital admissions and 2,400 emergency room visits
for asthma every year."
Reflecting on these statistics, Professor Wargo said, "The tougher
diesel regulations adopted by EPA last year are important, but
insufficient to protect the respiratory health of children today.
EPA's estimates did not account for the high exposures experienced
daily by children while riding school buses, or from indoor pollution
in homes, schools, and occupational settings. It seems unreasonable
to wait any longer before taking steps to minimize diesel emissions
from school buses."
Mark Cullen, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Public Health at the
Yale School of Medicine and director of Yale's Occupational and
Environmental Medicine Program, and participant in the research,
recently found that asthma prevalence within individual Connecticut
schools ranged between 3 percent and 20 percent, in a study that was
also sponsored by EHHI. Dr. Cullen said, "Although we do not fully
understand the relation between diesel exhaust and asthma prevalence,
we do know that components of diesel exhaust can adversely affect
lung function in children with underlying respiratory illnesses such
as asthma, bronchitis, and infections. Children's airways are not yet
fully developed and have a smaller diameter than those of adults.
Given these conditions, it may be more difficult for asthmatic
children-with restricted airways-to clear the very fine particles and
gases inhaled deeply within their lungs."
Robert LaCamera, M.D., Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the Yale
School of Medicine and a reviewer of the study, commented, "There is
no known safe level of exposure to diesel exhaust for children,
especially those with respiratory illness. The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention estimates that 4.8 million U.S. children have
asthma. This figure includes the nearly 44,500 school-aged children
in Connecticut diagnosed with the illness, and most of these children
ride the bus to school. Therefore, I strongly support efforts to
reduce diesel emissions from school buses as soon as possible."
The research team found that within the United States nearly 600,000
school buses transport 24 million students to school daily. In
Connecticut, 387,000 students ride to school on nearly 6,100 buses.
If rides average 30 minutes in each direction, students will spend
180 hours on buses each year. Collectively, U.S. children spend 3
billion hours on school buses each year.
Background air pollution is already a serious problem in Connecticut
and in many other parts of the nation. In 2001, portions of
Connecticut exceeded the federal ozone limit on 26 days, as reported
by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. Diesel
exhaust includes nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds that
together contribute to ozone levels that may exacerbate asthma.
Susan Addiss, former Connecticut Commissioner of Health and Vice
President of the Connecticut Health Foundation, noted, "This study
reveals that children are exposed to toxic air pollutants at levels
not yet accounted for by federal or state officials. These are
preventable threats to children's respiratory health that could be
reasonably managed by following the recommendations suggested in this
study."
"This study shows that it is incredibly important to prohibit
unnecessary school bus idling and to have this prohibition include
local enforcement," said Nancy Alderman, President of Environment and
Human Health, Inc. "This study also shows the importance of requiring
the use of low sulfur fuel and retrofitting school buses with both
particle traps and catalytic converters. If we start with these few
recommendations we will be taking a large step toward protecting
children's health."
The report, Children's Exposure to Diesel Exhaust on School Buses, is
available on Environment and Human Health, Inc.'s website at
www.ehhi.org.
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