Breathe
Better
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental
Management (DEM)) in partnership with the Department of Elementary and
Secondary Education and the Department of Health launched a new statewide
initiative, Breathe Better Rhode Island
to protect children and bus drivers from breathing excessive amounts of school
bus diesel exhaust emissions by limiting the amount of time buses idle their
engines. We worked with the Asthma
Regional Council of New England, the American Lung Association of Rhode Island,
the major providers of school bus transportation and the Rhode Island Parent
Teacher Association endorse this policy.
In May 2004, school districts were asked to
1. Identify a person to coordinate
the Breathe Better Rhode Island program
and act as a liaison with the transportation company and DEM.
2. Adopt a
written no-idling policy. (The sample policy statement is summarized below).
¨ School bus drivers will shut
off bus engines immediately upon reaching their destination, and buses will not
idle while waiting for passengers. This
rule applies to all bus use including daily route travel, field trips, and
transportation to and from athletic events.
The school bus should not be restarted until it is ready to depart and
there is a clear path to exit the pick-up area.
¨ During winter months, limit
idling time during early morning warm-up to the manufacturer’s recommendation -
generally 3-5 minutes. Schools should
provide an indoor waiting space for drivers who arrive early and need to keep
warm. This reduces the need for bus
idling.
¨ If a bus needs the engine to
run flashing lights during longer duration loading and unloading, maintenance
staff should install a heavy duty battery system, an extra battery and/or
change the circuit configurations to power lights by battery without running
the engine.
¨ To reduce engine warm-up
time, avoid starting difficulties, and help defrost windows, consider using
block heaters that plug into electrical outlets or inline auxiliary fuel fired
heaters.
3. Ensure that bus drivers
complete a no-idling training session.
4. Publicize the new policy to
the school community. Explain the
program to students, parents and community groups in newsletters and at school
board and PTA meetings.
5. Ensure that future
transportation contracts include no-idling statements.
6. Redesign bus parking zones
to minimize the potential for diesel exhaust inside the bus and in the
school. Move bus parking areas away from
school air intake vents. Park buses at a diagonal to prevent front-to-back
passing of emissions and reduce diesel fumes in each bus.
7. Post “no idling” signs. Alert drivers that engines should be turned
off when a bus is waiting or parked.
8. Apply no idling rules to other
diesel equipment including all construction and delivery vehicles on school
property.
Policy/Environmental Change Initiation
According
to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), exposure to diesel exhaust, even
at low levels, is a serious health hazard and can cause respiratory problems
such as asthma and bronchitis. Diesel
emissions are well-documented asthma triggers and may increase the severity of
asthma attacks. Asthma is currently the number one cause of missed school days
for American children, and asthma affects more than one in nine children in
Public Health Agency Roles
This
is a collaborative action with the Department of Health (one of the key
partners) and the Director of Health endorsing the initiative and signing on to
the letter for school district superintendents.
Major Partners
In
addition to the above mentioned partners, major partners included the State Departments
of Environmental Management and Education and the Asthma Regional Council of
New England.
Official Support
The Directors of the Departments named above
supported this effort.
Results from the Policy/Environmental Change
We plan to monitor number of policies enacted to track
the impact and outcomes. To date over
400 bus drivers have participated in four training sessions on idling
prevention, at least 14 districts have adopted formal anti-idling policies, and
the two largest bus companies covering approximately 75% of RI school children
have agreed to the anti-idling policy.
Opposition
There
was no significant opposition to this change.
Lessons Learned
The
cross agency partnerships were of key importance, as well as the flexibility to
work at several levels. Anti-idling
policies for schools have been introduced into legislation at the state level
for several years with no action.
Working at the district level has been more successful, with the
greatest success, in terms of protecting the most children, occurred through
working with the companies providing bus transportation.
Submitted
By
Ann Kelsey Thacher, MS
Chief, Office of Health
Promotion
Rhode Island Department of
Health, 3 Capitol Hill
401-222-7637
401-222-4415 FAX
For Further Information Contact:
Program Manager, RI Asthma Control Program
401-222-4779