Clean Air Zone Idaho

What is Clean Air Zone Idaho?

Clean Air Zone Idaho is a statewide program aimed at reducing children's exposure to school bus diesel exhaust by discouraging idling of buses and other vehicles and encouraging use of alternative fuels in school buses.

President George Bush and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have requested $65 million in funding for Clean School Bus USA, a national partnership to reduce emissions of air pollutants from school buses.

To assist Idaho schools in accessing federal funding and achieving national program goals, the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has initiated Clean Air Zone Idaho to provide Idaho schools with a comprehensive toolkit to reduce the impacts of vehicle emissions outside their schools.

• Provide a healthier environment for Idaho's school-children by reducing emissions from diesel-powered school buses;
• Improve air quality in and around school buildings and throughout local communities; and
• Assist school districts in obtaining funding to use cleaner fuels, replace existing buses with cleaner models, and/or retrofit buses with advanced emission control technologies.

What Are the Health Impacts of Diesel Exhaust?

Diesel exhaust aggravates asthman, emphysema, and bronchitis, according to the U.S. EPA, and exacerbates allergies. Based on human exposure studies as well as lab data, EPA has concluded that diesel is a probable carcinogen.

While dropping off or pick students up from school and waiting, idling buses and vehicles emit fine particulate matter and other pollutants, which can impact air quality and public health. Although breathing diesel exhaust may not measurably impair lung function in adults, recent studies demonstrate that particulate pollution can impair the development of lungs in children.

Other studies estimate that children are exposed to diesel exhaust levels within school buses that are as much as four times higher than in nearby vehicles. Bus idling an bus queuing can increase the concentrations of particulates both inside school buses and inside nearby buildings.

What Can Schools Do to Minimize the Health Impacts of School Bus Diesel Exhaust?

Using cleaner fuels such as B20 biodiesel is one way existing buses can be upgraded (or "retrofitted") to pollute less. Possible alternative fuel options include:

Biodiesel Fuels:
Biodiesel, a mixture of diesel fuel with soybean or vegetable oil-based products, can reduce fine particulate emissions by up to 10%, and also may reduce the toxicity of diesel emissions.

A standard diesel engine can operate on biodiesel mixtures of up to 20% without physical modifications. The incremental cost of 20% biodiesel typically ranges from 12-20 cents per gallon.

Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel:
ULSD has significantly less sulfur content, which results in up to 10% reductions of fine particulates, and can be used in any diesel vehicle. The additional cost of ULSD ranges from 8- 20 cents per gallon. Cash in on bus retrofit and purchase programs.

Across the country, local school districts have purchased more than 2,600 clean alternative fuel buses over the past few years. With the increase in federal funding under the Clean School Bus Program, the opportunity has never been better for Idaho schools to participate in this nationwide program.

DEQ is committed to helping Idaho schools in finding and applying for funds to:

Join the Clean Air Zone Idaho Program

Take a pledge to "get into the zone." Your school will receive: