| The increase in buses in the city; More pollution and health concerns | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 11 2006, 09:21 AM (113 Views) | |
| fyi | Jan 11 2006, 09:21 AM Post #1 |
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Principal
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Since Livonia is increasing the amount of buses in the city, maybe they should look into a grant to reduce health risks and pollution. ******************************************************************* Lyme-Old Lyme Gets Grant To Reduce Buses' Emissions Low-sulfur fuel, filters to help curb pollution By JENNA CHO Day Staff Writer, Lyme/Old Lyme Published on 1/11/2006 The Lyme-Old Lyme school district recently received a federal grant that would allow it to replace the fuel in school buses to a cleaner diesel fuel and to retrofit the buses with diesel filters, an effort that would reduce emissions and limit pollution that exacerbates child asthma. The grant, totaling $167,817, is being provided by the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus USA Assistance Agreement. David Klein, superintendent of Regional District 18, said the district received notification of the grant approval at the end of December. The district applied for the grant in July. “We feel very fortunate to have had our grant application approved,” Klein said. “And I'm most excited about just the safety upgrade for students and our community.” Klein said the grant would cover the cost of retrofitting 19 buses with diesel particulate matter filters and one bus with a diesel oxidation catalyst. There are 23 school buses in the district operated by First Student Inc., but Klein said three are used only as substitute buses. The district's business manager, Marilyn Warren, said the grant would also cover the price differential for one year of replacing diesel with ultra-low sulfur diesel, which she estimated was 30 cents a gallon more than regular diesel. “You're talking about burning a much cleaner, higher-efficiency fuel, which obviously assists in the reduction of emission and pollution,” Klein said. The filters, when combined with the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel, will reduce the amount of particulate matter, a pollutant found to exacerbate asthma in children, that leaves the bus exhaust pipes by about 60 to 90 percent, said Michael Tucchio, a Lyme resident who has been involved with clean air and energy initiatives through the Clean Cities program for more than 10 years. Tucchio was instrumental in helping the district draft the grant application. Tucchio said one bus will be retrofitted with an oxidation catalyst, similar to a catalytic converter in cars, because it cannot accommodate a filter. Tucchio said the catalyst will reduce particulate matter by about 30 percent. “When you can't get anything else to work, you go to the next-best technology,” Tucchio said. Klein said the district expects to make the switch to the ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel and retrofit the buses with the filters and catalyst in time for the 2006-07 school year. The grant comes in time to help the district comply with a new EPA regulation that will mandate the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel starting in June. News of the cleaner fuel and filters came as a pleasant surprise to Sophie Marsh, a resident of Jadon Drive, where the bus depot is currently located. Marsh and a group of Jadon Drive residents have been actively requesting that the bus barn be moved from the residential neighborhood. Marsh said diesel exhaust from idling school buses is a health hazard to neighboring residents and to children riding the buses. “I think this will be a great interim fix,” she said. The town is considering moving the bus depot to the town landfill on Four Mile River Road, which will close permanently within the next few years. Marsh said she helped collect approximately 900 signatures for a petition, circulated outside the municipal elections in November, requesting that the town move the bus depot to the landfill. |
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| fyi | Jan 11 2006, 09:36 AM Post #2 |
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Principal
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The grant comes in time to help the district comply with a new EPA regulation that will mandate the use of ultra-low sulfur diesel starting in June
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3:38 AM Jul 11