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School Bus Idling

Riding the school bus is a rite of passage for many kids in America. But breathing toxic exhaust fumes shouldn’t have to be part of the experience.

School buses powered by diesel fuel expose America’s children to harmful fumes and a potent mix of soot, fine particulates and 40 chemicals considered “hazardous” under the Clean Air Act, including benzene – classified by EPA as a known human carcinogen. Breathing dirty exhaust also aggravates respiratory problems such as childhood asthma and allergies.

More than 99% of school buses in America run on diesel fuel. With most bus rides averaging between 20-30 minutes, children in the United States spend a collective three billion hours on school buses each year.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, roughly 4.8 million children in America suffer from asthma. The fine particulates found in diesel exhaust are bad for everyone’s health, but they are particularly dangerous to children. Kids are more vulnerable for several reasons, including the fact that they are still growing.  That means their biological systems aren’t yet mature, and systems still in development can be affected by exposures that are less risky for adults.

To protect children from breathing excessive amounts of diesel fumes, several states have enacted anti-idling regulations that prevent bus drivers from leaving the motor running while children load and unload. For example, in West Virginia, idling is prohibited unless the temperature dips below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Local jurisdictions are also encouraged to use biodeisel fuel, a cleaner-burning fuel now being used in roughly 20% of West Virginia school buses.

For more information on the hazards of breathing diesel fuel, click here or visit the NRDC site.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org