Sept. 30, 2004
Southland and federal air quality officials today
announced the region’s first project to reduce toxic diesel emissions from
idling big-rig trucks by providing “plug-in” power at a truck stop along
Interstate 5.
“Long-haul truckers often idle their rigs for up to eight hours at a time
to power their cabs while they rest -- wasting fuel and producing
unnecessary toxic diesel emissions,” said Michael D. Antonovich, a Los
Angeles County Supervisor and member of the South Coast Air Quality
Management District Governing Board.
“By installing these devices at truck stops, we can provide electricity
to truck cabs so truckers can shut down their engines and reduce diesel
emissions harmful to the health of our children and the environment,” he
said.
The program was announced today at a joint news conference of AQMD and
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA presented a $100,000 check to
AQMD at the event to help fund the project. AQMD staff will recommend that
its Board provide $100,000 in matching funds. The combined funding will be
used to install plug-in power devices in 20 spaces at a truck stop on I-5 in
Los Angeles County.
The initiative is part of the U.S. EPA’s I-5 Truck Idle Reduction
Project, a voluntary, cooperative effort between government agencies to
create an idle-free corridor along the West Coast.
The truck project is part of the umbrella
West Coast Diesel Emissions Reductions Collaborative, a voluntary effort led
by EPA to reduce diesel pollution from ports, railroads, trucks and
agricultural sources. EPA today announced seven other collaborative
projects in San Francisco, Sacramento, Bakersfield, San Diego and cities in
Washington and Oregon.
“The collaborative projects announced today
will provide immediate health benefits for residents of the West Coast,
especially for our children,” said Wayne Nastri, EPA’s administrator for the
Pacific Southwest region. “Replacing old diesel engines with newer, cleaner
models -- as well as providing cleaner fuel -- will quicken the pace toward
the new EPA standards, providing a healthier, cleaner environment for
everyone.”
The collaborative includes government agencies from the United States,
Canada and Mexico, and non-profit and private sector partners from
California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and British Columbia.
Heavy-duty truck engines often are idled at truck stops to provide
heating and cooling while drivers rest. The truck stop plug-in power
modules will replace the need for idling of diesel-fueled truck engines to
provide electricity to the driver’s cab.
Nationwide, about 500,000 long-haul trucks idle their engines an average
of eight hours per day, consuming about 960 million gallons of fuel annually
and emitting 180,000 tons of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and 5,000 tons of
particulate matter (PM) every year, according to EPA.
Truck stops in this region generate approximately 750 tons of NOx and 11
tons of PM emissions annually. By providing plug-in power, this project is
expected to reduce a total of 105 tons of NOx emissions and 2.7 tons of PM
over a 10-year period.
According to a landmark 1999 AQMD study, diesel particulate emissions are
responsible for about 70 percent of the total cancer risk from air
pollution. Diesel emissions also contribute to unhealthful levels of fine
particles and smog. Fine particles have been associated with an increased
risk of premature death and respiratory problems.
A recent long-term study by the University of Southern California found
that today’s levels of particulate pollution slow lung growth in children
and may permanently harm their health in adulthood.
Today’s event took place at the Museum of the American West/Autry
National Center in Griffith Park overlooking Interstate 5. Students from
Horace Mann Elementary School in Glendale participated in the event.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties
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