Nation's School Buses Worst Polluting Vehicles

by Armando Duke

Houston, TX - A recent study shows that at least 500,000 of our nation's school buses are amongst the worst polluting vehicles on the road today and pose a health hazard for our childeren who ride them.

The Union of Concerned Scientists in Berkeley released their study earlier this week, showing that the nation's 505,000 school buses were some of the oldest and dirtiest vehicles on the road. According to the report, a single bus can produce between twice and 10 times as much diesel soot as a big rig and at least a third of our school buses are over ten years old.

While our school buses have become safer, thanks to seat belts and other improvements, polluted air from the soot produced by the school buses was found in heavy amounts inside the buses. Of the 505,000 school buses used across the country 95 percent are deisel powered, which produces the most pollution. High levels of diesel exhaust and soot generated by those engines also expose children to higher risk of asthma, cancer and other significant health problems, the report said. Experts estimated that $16 billion would be needed to retrofit or replace more than half a million school buses in the US. A new school bus costs between $100,000 to $130,000 and most school districts are already strapped for cash.

The EPA has $6 million allocated for school bus cleanup this year. The House of Representatives recently earmarked $28 million for a variety of diesel cleanup programs, including for school buses; the Senate has yet to act.

The report's lead author Patricia Monahan, a former air pollution and toxics scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said, "Even if you have a very good program [for reducing emissions], kids are still riding on very high-polluting buses."