Toxic School Buses: Stop Your Idling! by Kirsten Anderberg
Toxic School Buses: Stop Your Idling!
By Kirsten Anderberg (www.kirstenanderberg.com)
Written Jan. 8, 2007
Children riding on school buses are exposed to very high levels of cancer-causing pollutants, due to the old diesel buses still in use by most school districts. Many scientific organizations, environmental activists, and health agencies, have joined the push to clean up the school buses within the United States and Canada. The first steps that are being promoted in this cleaner school bus awareness campaign are: 1) Replacement of the oldest fleet buses, 2) Retrofitting of the older models, and 3) Anti-idling policies. These three steps can help reduce pollution *while* improving the health of children in our communities. Relatively simple steps are being implemented by school districts throughout North America and these model programs can serve as role models for others. On the "Puget Sound Clean Air Agency" website (http://www.pscleanair.org/programs/dieselsolutions/buses/default.aspx), it says that WA state has "one of the largest statewide, state-funded, voluntary school bus retrofit programs in the country." Yet, currently, in 2006, my home state of Washington, received a "D" on the "School Bus Pollution Report Card," and also had a smog pollution ranking of "poor," according to the Union of Concerned Scientists (http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/big_rig_cleanup/clean-school-bus-pollution.html). From what I can tell, WA has a retrofitting program that has not even completed 2,000 retrofits since 2003, with $5 million in state funding in its first year alone! Oregon state to our south, with presumably less state funding for school bus clean up, received a "C" grade, which is still nothing to brag about, when you are talking about air, children, and health.
As a parent or even just a concerned citizen, there are things you can do to help this situation. You can contact school officials, the school bus owners/operators, local government officials and agencies, local media, the bus drivers, other parents, and the students themselves, to begin an awareness-raising campaign, and to ultimately promote cleaner buses for healthier school children, and a healthier environment for all. Basic things, such as using the least healthy buses on the shortest bus routes, can improve the health of students and such obvious alternatives should be discussed in all school districts. "No Idle Zones" implemented at schools, for both school buses and parents in cars, can seriously reduce pollution in school neighborhoods. It is important we *notice* and *take action on* the information readily available, that shows school buses across North America, are not only posing environmental hazards to our air, collectively, but they are also exposing our children to very high levels of diesel toxins that build up inside the buses as they drive or idle. Awareness is the first hurdle, but ultimately, *action* is required.
Anti-Idling regulations help reduce air pollution, reduce wasted fuel, and save wear and tear on school buses. Anti-Idling practices are relatively easy to implement, and should be one of the first steps taken by parents and schools to reduce pollution around schools. Idling school buses pollute air outside the school, but that pollution also enters school buildings through windows, etc. Also of concern is the fact that old school buses pollute air *inside* the buses. In a lawsuit filed against the Laidlaw school bus company in CA (http://www.physorg.com/news65885378.html), by the Environmental Law Foundation and Children's Earth Foundation, the plaintiffs charge that the atmosphere inside some school buses is up to 10 times as sooty as the air outside the vehicles, and demanded cancer-causing diesel warnings be posted on all its school buses. Another issue is children's lungs are smaller and breathe faster and more often have less of a defense mechanism to fend off these regular doses of pollutants inside, and outside, these buses. Idling buses increase the pollution inside and outside the bus, but also cost money, as fuel is expensive. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) website (http://www.epa.gov/cleanschoolbus), is full of information about anti-idling regulations and procedures for schools.
Besides the implementation of no-idle zones and obvious things, such as using older models on shorter routes, other things can also help. There are several "pollution control devices," such as "Diesel Oxidation Catalysts" and "Diesel Particulate Matter Filters," which are quick to install, and help reduce pollution on older fleet buses. Replacing the engines with newer engines can help also. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, "the average school bus releases twice the amount of smog-forming pollution, 27 times as much soot, and 6,000 pounds more global warming pollution than a natural gas vehicle." Another option is to use cleaner fuels or alternative technology to run school buses. According to ucsusa.org (http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_vehicles/big_rig_cleanup/success-stories-clean-school-buses-across-country.html), in 130 school districts across 17 states, children ride alternative-fuel buses to school. Evansville-Vanderburgh, IN, Ardmore, PA, and Tulsa, OK, and CA fleets, are using buses that are running largely on Natural Gas. There are also pushes to retrofit old diesel buses for biodiesel, and to focus on alternative energy for these buses in the future.
Most of the school buses in use now are old-fashioned diesel buses. And although older buses can be refitted to make them less hazardous, ultimately, the newer buses are cleaner and safer and a move to replace old school buses with newer ones should be conceded in any school district. One of the problems is diesel school buses are very durable and can stay on the road a long time with proper maintenance! One third of the diesel school buses in the United States were in service before 1990, which means they are not even close to meeting the current standards of newer models. Citizens and public interest organizations alike are pushing State and Federal agencies to help with replacement and retrofitting costs of school bus fleets.
In 2004, new emissions standards for diesel school buses emerged, and thus school buses made after 2004 release up to six times less pollution as the buses made before 1990, and the new 2007 regulations will cut pollution levels from diesel school buses by up to 60 times the older model levels. With one third of the U.S. school bus fleet sending out 6-60 times the amount of pollution it needs to, merely due to delivering kids to school daily, we need to look at that. Priority spending should focus on newer buses in the fleet whenever possible. The Union of Concerned Scientists report that over 75,000 pre-1990 school buses are still on the roads, carrying approximately 3 million children to schools.
According to the EPA's "Clean School Bus USA" website, 24 million children ride school buses every day, and students spend an hour and a half per weekday on buses, on average. School buses drive over 4 billion miles a year in the U.S., according to this site, thus this is an issue that truly affects everyone, not just parents and school kids. Canada is also taking this issue seriously and has launched anti-idling programs, including a "Healthy School Program" sponsored by the New Brunswick Lung Association, an "Earth Day Canada" sponsored "Eco-Kids" anti-idling campaign, and the City of Mississauga has created no-idle zones at its schools (http://www5.mississauga.ca/idlefree/school.htm). So many groups of people, in so many places, are affected by the pollution from older diesel school buses, that this topic warrants serious discussion worldwide.
And if you are the parent of a child who rides school buses, what can you do, besides putting political pressure on your school and government for changes? Several things improve a child's health when riding on diesel buses. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (http://www.nrdc.org/air/transportation/qbus.asp), diesel exhaust levels were lowest when windows were open in the buses. And when the windows are closed, the exhaust gathers in the back of the bus. So, whenever possible, instruct your child and the bus driver to open as many windows as possible, and tell your child to sit in the front of the bus, if possible. Bus drivers should be made aware of the cleaner air in the front of the buses, and should actually seat children as close to the front as possible, only using the back seats when necessary. Also, those children who ride buses the longest, should sit in the front seats on the way to and from school, to avoid less prolonged contact with diesel exhaust.
And why stop at the school buses? In Mississauga, Canada, they have begun an aggressive campaign to curb all vehicles from idling mindlessly on their streets (http://www5.mississauga.ca/idlefree/campaign.htm). They lay out a good model for any city wishing to improve its citizens' health through anti-idling initiatives. I used to live in a diesel truck stop town, in Castaic, CA, and you could literally TASTE the diesel in the air from all the trucks idling at the truck stop, sometimes for 8 hours at a time, each. The town is full of families and kids, and my son asked if he would "catch" asthma from the other kids in school, as everyone he knew needed an asthma inhaler there, unlike his friends in Seattle. From diesel trucks idling at truck stops, to people who "warm up" their cars for 15 minutes every morning, unconsciousness is causing unnecessary pollution! Anti-idling rules help get everyone on the same page, as some seem to need fines to pay, to keep them from destroying the air!
"At least 14 states and two dozen local governments have restrictions on how long you can idle, and more are joining the list every year," according to Roadstar.com (http://www.roadstaronline.com/2005/07/050a0507.asp). There is an interesting synopsis of a California anti-idling law model at http://www.epa.gov/smartway/documents/420s05012.pdf. If you look down the page, it shows who wants exemptions from this anti-idling legislation. Unfortunately, some of the greatest offenders want exemptions on that list, including "sleeper berth trucks," the kind of trucks that assemble at truck stops and keep their trucks idling for hours, giving places like Castaic air that tastes like oil, basically. I have also had to go outside my home in Seattle to tell trucks to quit using a school parking lot across the street as an impromptu truck stop! The loud humming of the rig would wake up our apartment building at 3 AM and police finally forced this company to stop this behavior. (Also, used condoms were found lying in streets around the cabs of trucks that parked on the streets in Castaic, which was not fun to explain to the children walking by them on the way to school...and these truckers did not even live there!)
We see that armored vehicles want an exemption to anti-idling laws, as do passenger buses, and there is even a "weather" exemption. I assume that means if a trucker gets hot, in a southern climate, he is allowed to just idle away, to get his air conditioning. Part of the reason sleeper berth trucks idle so long at truck stops is to keep their heaters and/or air conditioners going while they are inside the sleeper berths, so this exemption only exacerbates the problem. These loopholes are very problematic, but when you see that the EPA is the one who sponsored that law model workshop, these loopholes make sense. The EPA cannot be taken seriously at all, when it says it is interested in the environment's health. To produce anti-idling law models that exempt some of the most prolific idlers, sleeper berth trucks, trucks in heat or cold, public buses...it seems sad and futile. But we have a place to begin, at least. It is time we take idling seriously, not just in our school bus fleets, but in our mass transit, commercial truck fleets, and in personal car usage, as well.
You can read how truckers feel about these anti-idling initiatives at etrucker.com (http://www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=45557). The site quotes truck owner-operator Joe Rajkovacz of Wisconsin, who "believes no-idling enforcement will soon be widespread." He says, "All these laws do is incrementally strip us of our freedom," and laments, "there are already a lot of areas with these laws." There truckers complain that they are held to stricter anti-idling laws than non-commerical trucks and cars. CA has instituted a 5 minute big truck idling limit, and the truckers do not like it, saying cars have no idling limit there. They also complain that Mass. has a no idling law that does not include passenger cars. The truckers at Etrucker.com complain about New Jersey's 3 minute limit on big truck idling, and also complain that limit does not apply to non-diesel cars there either. They praise Conn. for applying no idle laws to cars and trucks alike. But in all honesty, commercial trucks are bigger, drive a lot more hours on the road daily, and are leaving diesel trails of pollution that cars do not. Commercial trucks really are not the same as hybrid passenger cars! But you knew the biggest opponent to anti-idling legislation would be the trucking industry. It is a no-brainer. Which means not only do we need to look at how we get out kids to school, but also at how we get our food and goods to market. I believe trucker Joe Rajkovacz is right. Anti-idling legislation will soon be widespread, and hopefully, commercial diesel trucks will NOT be exempt from those laws. Nor will school buses, or public transit, or even personal cars. Mindless idling of vehicles is unacceptable in this day and age. May it become as shameful as littering has become with proper education. People avoid openly littering, and I hope someday they will be as ashamed of openly idling a vehicle for no reason, as well.
"There's only so much oil in the ground,
Sooner or later there won't be none around.
Tell that to your children,
While you're driving them 'round town,
That there's only so much oil in the ground.
There's no excuse,
For our abuse..."
- Tower of Power, 1970's
Kirsten Anderberg. All rights reserved. For permission to reprint/publish, please contact Kirsten at kirstena@resist.ca.