Dear EarthTalk: Diesel exhaust from trucks, buses, large ships and farm equipment is especially unhealthy. What progress has been made in curbing diesel pollution? -- Jackie Mitchell, Barre, MA
The government mandated clean-up of diesel engines has already produced measurable positive results: Ozone-causing smog is down 13 percent, soot levels are down 24 percent and short-term particulate pollution is down some 28 percent over the last decade.
Credit: iStockPhoto/Thinkstock
Gasoline-powered passenger cars plying American roads have been subject to strict pollution limits for some three decades already, but only recently have tougher standards for diesel-powered trucks, trains, barges and other soot-belching vehicles gone on the books across the country. Traditionally, older diesel engines produce less carbon dioxide per mile driven than gasoline-powered vehicles, but they produce more of the pollution associated with localized environmental trauma—such as smog and soot in the air—that can trigger respiratory and cardiovascular problems and have been linked to lung and other cancers.
Thanks to the work of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), American Lung Association (ALA) and others, though, the U.S. government has adopted increasingly stringent rules governing how much particulate pollution and other toxins are allowed to come out of diesel engines. In 2001, these groups convinced Congress to pass strict new pollution limits on heavy-duty trucks and buses. Three years later similar standards were applied for non-road vehicles, including construction and farm equipment.
These laws were designed to clean up new diesel engines, but the millions of older diesel engines still on American roads, work sites and waterways continue to cause pollution problems. Newer state laws in California, Texas and New York calling on owners of older diesel vehicles to retrofit their engines with emissions reduction equipment has helped clean the air in those states. And regional public-private partnerships administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Clean Diesel Campaign have also helped put a dent in diesel emissions from the trucking, rail and shipping sectors.
Even though the clean-up of diesel engines has only been mandated in the U.S. within the last 10 years, the positive effects are already noticeable. A recent report (“State of the Air: 2012”) issued by the ALA found that, in urban areas across the U.S., ozone-causing smog is down 13 percent, soot levels are 24 percent lower and short-term particulate pollution is down some 28 percent over the last decade.
Meanwhile, California’s Diesel Risk Reduction Plan, which calls for cleaner-burning diesel fuels, retrofitting of older engines with particle-trapping filters, and the use in new diesel engines of advanced technologies that yield some 90 percent fewer particle emissions, has already cut diesel particle emissions by 75 percent there, with 10 more percentage points worth of clean-up expected by 2020.
“Together, these regulations will prevent tens of thousands of deaths and hospitalizations each year,” reports EDF. “The billions of dollars in public health benefits far outweigh the costs of controlling pollution.” Green leaders concede we still have lots of work to do on the issue, given that 40 percent of the U.S. population still lives in areas with unsafe levels of smog and soot pollution. But there is optimism that pollution reduction policies like California’s will soon be standard elsewhere as well, making our air even cleaner and reducing the percentage of Americans living in areas with compromised air quality.
CONTACTS: EDF, www.edf.org; EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign, www.epa.gov/diesel; ALA’s State of the Air 2012, www.stateoftheair.org/2012/assets/state-of-the-air2012.pdf; California’s Diesel Risk Reduction Plan, www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/documents/rrpapp.htm
Thanks to the work of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), American Lung Association (ALA) and others, though, the U.S. government has adopted increasingly stringent rules governing how much particulate pollution and other toxins are allowed to come out of diesel engines. In 2001, these groups convinced Congress to pass strict new pollution limits on heavy-duty trucks and buses. Three years later similar standards were applied for non-road vehicles, including construction and farm equipment.
These laws were designed to clean up new diesel engines, but the millions of older diesel engines still on American roads, work sites and waterways continue to cause pollution problems. Newer state laws in California, Texas and New York calling on owners of older diesel vehicles to retrofit their engines with emissions reduction equipment has helped clean the air in those states. And regional public-private partnerships administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Clean Diesel Campaign have also helped put a dent in diesel emissions from the trucking, rail and shipping sectors.
Even though the clean-up of diesel engines has only been mandated in the U.S. within the last 10 years, the positive effects are already noticeable. A recent report (“State of the Air: 2012”) issued by the ALA found that, in urban areas across the U.S., ozone-causing smog is down 13 percent, soot levels are 24 percent lower and short-term particulate pollution is down some 28 percent over the last decade.
Meanwhile, California’s Diesel Risk Reduction Plan, which calls for cleaner-burning diesel fuels, retrofitting of older engines with particle-trapping filters, and the use in new diesel engines of advanced technologies that yield some 90 percent fewer particle emissions, has already cut diesel particle emissions by 75 percent there, with 10 more percentage points worth of clean-up expected by 2020.
“Together, these regulations will prevent tens of thousands of deaths and hospitalizations each year,” reports EDF. “The billions of dollars in public health benefits far outweigh the costs of controlling pollution.” Green leaders concede we still have lots of work to do on the issue, given that 40 percent of the U.S. population still lives in areas with unsafe levels of smog and soot pollution. But there is optimism that pollution reduction policies like California’s will soon be standard elsewhere as well, making our air even cleaner and reducing the percentage of Americans living in areas with compromised air quality.
CONTACTS: EDF, www.edf.org; EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign, www.epa.gov/diesel; ALA’s State of the Air 2012, www.stateoftheair.org/2012/assets/state-of-the-air2012.pdf; California’s Diesel Risk Reduction Plan, www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/documents/rrpapp.htm
In Spanish:
Querido DiálogoEcológico: El escape diesel de camiones, buses, equipos grandes de buques y granja son especialmente pocos sanos. ¿Qué progreso se ha hecho para limitar la contaminación diesel? - Jackie Mitchell, Barre, MA
La limpieza de motores diesel ordenada por el gobierno ha producido ya resultados positivos tangibles: El smog que causa ozono ha caído 13 por ciento, los niveles de hollín han sido reducidos en un 24 por ciento y la polución de particulados a corto plazo ha disminuído un 28 por ciento en la última década.
Los autos de pasajeros a gasolina que ruedan por los caminos norteamericanos han sido sujetos a límites estrictos de contaminación por unas tres décadas ya, pero solamente recientemente han entrado en vigencia a través del país estándares más estrictos para camiones, trenes, barcazas, y otros vehículos diesel que eructan hollín. Tradicionalmente, los motores diesel más viejos han producido menos bióxido de carbono por milla corrida que los vehículos a gasolina, pero ellos producen más contaminación del tipo asociado con trauma ambiental localizado—como el smog y el hollín en el aire—que pueden provocar problemas respiratorios y cardiovasculares y han sido ligado a cánceres del pulmón y otros.
Sin embargo, gracias al trabajo del Fondo de Defensa Ambiental (EDF por sus siglas en inglés), la Asociación Pulmonar Estadounidense (ALA) y otros, el gobierno de EEUU ha adoptado reglas cada vez más rigurosas que gobiernan cuánta contaminación tanto particulada como de otras toxinas se permite escapar de motores diesel. En 2001, estos grupos convencieron al Congreso a pasar nuevos límites estrictos de contaminación en camiones pesados y buses. Tres años después estándares similares fueron aplicados a vehículos fuera de carretera, inclusive equipos de construcción y agricultura.
Estas leyes fueron diseñadas para limpiar los nuevos motores diesel, pero los millones de motores diesel más viejos todavía en las rutas norteamericanas, sitios de trabajo y vías navegables continúan causando problemas de contaminación. Nuevas leyes estatales en California, Tejas y Nueva York que ordenan a propietarios de vehículos diesel más viejos actualizar sus motores con equipos de reducción de emisiones han ayudado a limpiar el aire en esos estados. Y las asociaciones público-privadas regionales administradas por la Campaña Nacional Para Limpiar los Diesels, de la Agencia de Protección del Medio Ambiente de EEUU también han ayudado a reducir emisiones diesel en los sectores de transportistas, ferrocarriles, y fletes y envíos.
Aunque la limpieza de motores diesel sólo ha sido puesta en vigencia en EEUU dentro de los últimos 10 años, los efectos positivos son ya notables. Un informe reciente ("Estado del Aire: 2012”) publicado por ALA encontró que, en áreas urbanas a través de EEUU, el smog que causa ozono ha bajado el 13 por ciento, los niveles de hollín han caído el 24 por ciento, y la contaminación de materias particuladas a corto plazo ha disminuído un 28 por ciento en la última década.
Mientras tanto, el Plan de Reducción de Riesgo Diesel de California, que ordena combustibles diesel meas limpios, la modernización de motores viejos con filtros para capturar partículas, y el uso de nuevos motores diesel de avanzada tecnología que rinden 90 ;por ciento menos emisiones de partículas, ya ha reducido las emisiones diesel 75 por ciento, con 10 puntos más de porcentaje de limpieza proyectados para 2020.
"En combinación, estas regulaciones prevendrán decenas de miles de muertes y hospitalizaciones
cada año," reporta EDF. "Los miles de millones de dólares en beneficios de salud pública significan mucho más que los costos de controlar la contaminación". Los líderes verdes conceden que todavía hay mucho que hacer en el asunto, dado que 40 por ciento de la población de EEUU todavía vive en áreas con niveles peligrosos de contaminación de smog y hollín. Pero hay optimismo que las políticas de reducción de contaminación como las de California pronto serán el estándar en otras partes también, haciendo nuestro aire aún más limpio y reduciendo el porcentaje de estadounidenses que viven en áreas con calidad aérea comprometida.
CONTACTOS: EDF, www.edf.org; EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign,www.epa.gov/diesel; ALA’s State of the Air 2012, www.stateoftheair.org/2012/assets/state-of-the-air2012.pdf; California’s Diesel Risk Reduction Plan, www.arb.ca.gov/diesel/documents/rrpapp.htm
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