In view of the rising incidences in asthma, one of EPA’s efforts to protect children from the hazards of air pollution is curtailing the manner by which school buses operate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or EPA released policies and procedures through the “Clean School Bus USA” that aims to eliminate pointless idling as well as upgrade or replace new fleet of buses if necessary. The move aims to limit schoolchildren’s exposure to diesel exhausts and air pollution.
This will benefit twenty-four million American children who ride the school bus on a daily basis constantly exposed to these potential dangers, in as much as these children spend an average of one and a half hour in a school bus.
National Idle-Reduction Campaign Regarding Pointless Idling
The EPA’s “Clean School Bus USA” launched this program to provide awareness for the:
a. children, teachers, school bus managers, and bus drivers about the quality of air and diesel discharge being emitted by the school bus.
b. important role of the bus driver in the prevention of health hazards.
c. protection of the health of the children and driver by improving the quality of air that they can breathe, including cost efficiency and considering the wear and tear of the engine.
Idling produces emissions of diesel fumes that pollutes the environment and likewise enters building structures through open windowpanes, doors, and ventilation intakes.
National Idle-Reduction campaign aims to promote cost efficiency as engine life will be prolonged and savings in terms of maintenance costs will be achieved.
If we will equate the minimum cost savings, based on the idling computation of the EPA, a bus with a reduced idling of 5minutes per day will give an annual fuel savings of around 7.5 gallons or $30 (@ $4 per gallon). The amount of savings per bus multiplied by the number of school buses in operation denotes a hefty amount of cost savings involved.
To attain its effectiveness, the standard school bus idling policy requires that:
1. the engine is on only when it is moving.
2. there will be an immediate engine turn off upon arrival at the loading or unloading areas.
3. the engine will be restarted only when it is about to leave.
4. early morning engine warm ups should not be more than five minutes.
Upgrading or Retrofitting of Buses
A diesel-fueled school bus is required to undergo upgrading or retrofitting to be considered as fit and clean for school bus operations. It is either fitted with a technological gadget that can minimize pollution or is using an Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (ULSD), or both.
The technological gadget is called Diesel Oxidation Catalyst. This device is capable of breaking down the pollutants through a chemical process. In turn, the emission of harmful components such as particulate matter (PM), hydrocarbons (HC), and carbon monoxide (CO) will be reduced. The cost is from $600 to $2,000, more or less. However, if you are interested in controlling only the particulate matter, the cost of the filter that will be installed in the exhaust system ranges from $5,000 to $10,000, at an average.
The use of ULSD in connection with the installation of the particulate matter filter will give significant reduction in PM, HC, and CO between sixty percent at the least, to a high of ninety percent. However, a stand-alone use of the ULSD can only give a modest result.
There are still other cleaner fuel alternatives like biodiesel and emulsified diesel. The former is made from vegetable oils and animal fats while the latter is made up of other additives, water, and diesel fuel. Each has their own advantages and disadvantages.
Replacement of New Fleet of Buses
Most school buses currently in operation were built prior to 1990, they do not have the pollution control devices, and safety features common in today’s automobiles. Hence, the emission of air pollutants is sixty times higher than those that were built in 2007. The sad part is that they are still operational since diesel engines can last for a long period of time and they account for about 75,000 school buses still in use.
The solution is to replace these school buses with new engines that pass the emission standards, or better yet purchase a new model school bus.
This move of the EPA is in line with efforts to improve the quality of air, schoolchildren breathe. The worsening state of asthma incidences has reached epidemic proportions and children are said to be the hardest hit. School bus idling while waiting for the passengers as well as retrofitting and replacing unfit school buses are the efforts underway to improve the quality of air that immediately affects the children.