Oregon House Moves to Protect State's Children from Diesel Exposure with Passage of 'Healthy School Bus Bill'

The Oregon House of Representatives today approved HB 2795 with only two 'no' votes. This common-sense legislation now goes on to the Senate. If passed, it will greatly reduce one of the top health threats to Oregon’s children: exposure to diesel pollution. Diesel pollution and asthma rates among children have some of the strongest associations in clinical studies, and Oregon’s asthma rates are among the worst in the nation. One of the most prominent and preventable sources of exposure to diesel pollution for Oregon’s children is through the exhaust of school buses. The bill was a win-win in that it imposed no additional fiscal impact to Oregon schools' budgets.

The bill passed by the House today requires that all diesel school buses in Oregon are retrofitted by 2017 or those that are too old to be retrofitted be replaced by 2025. Reducing diesel emissions from school buses represents one of the most important opportunities to achieve rapid and cost-effective health and environmental benefits in Oregon. 'Retrofit' means to upgrade currently operating diesel engines with new advanced exhaust controls to reduce the most harmful pollutants with the greatest impact to public health and the environment.

"Diesel exhaust contains high levels of particulate matter, other air toxics, nitrogen oxides, and hydrocarbons," said Renee Hackenmiller-Paradis MPH, PhD. "Even at relatively low levels, these contaminants can cause or make worse asthma and other respiratory ailments, in addition to many other problems such as increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and impaired neurological development."

According to the Oregon Department of Human Services, asthma rates for Oregon’s children approaches 8.5 per cent, which is close to 73,000 children. Asthma is also the number one cause of school absenteeism. Currently there are more than 3,700 diesel-powered school buses in Oregon and approximately 70% of these buses are unnecessarily emitting hazardous diesel exhaust.

"The pollution students and drivers breathe inside a school bus is at higher levels than directly outside the school bus," said Tricia Smith with the Oregon School Employees Association. "Recent research found that within-bus concentrations of diesel particulate matter and air toxics were 4 to 12 times higher than ambient pollution levels."

The Oregon Environmental Council championed this bill and was joined by a diverse group of organizations to support HB 2795:  American Lung Association in Oregon, Oregon School Employees Association, Oregon Public Health Association, Oregon Nurses Association, Community Health Partnership, and others.

About the Oregon Environmental Council
The Oregon Environmental Council safeguards what Oregonians love about Oregon – clean air and water, an unpolluted landscape and healthy food produced by local farmers. For 40 years we’ve been a champion for solutions to protect the health of every Oregonian and the health of the place we call home. Our vision for Oregon includes solving global warming, protecting kids from toxics, cleaning up our rivers, building sustainable economies, and ensuring healthy food and local farms. Find out more at www.oeconline.org.