School Buses, Air Pollution & Children s Health: Improving Children s Health & Local Air Quality by Reducing School Bus Emissions Presentation & Photos: Kim Perrotta November 2005 1 sygdom.info
School Buses, Air Pollution & Children s Health Project Manager: Kim Perrotta Background: Ralph Torrie Funding: The Laidlaw Foundation Walter & Duncan Gordon Foundation Environment Canada In-kind Support: Toronto Public Health Peel Health Services York Region Health Services Waterloo Region Public Health 2
Why Focus on School Bus Emissions? High Emitters of PM & NOx (Waterloo Centre for Atmospheric Science, 2005) 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 3 LDGV LDG T1&2 LDG T3&4 HDGV2B3 HDDV2B HDDV3 HDDV4&5 HDDV6&7 HDDV8A HDDV8B HDDTB NOx (g/vk T) HDDSB 700 600 500 400 300 200 100 0 PM2.5 (mg/vkt) LDGV LDGT1&2 LDGT3&4 HDGV2B3 HDDV2B HDDV3 HDDV4&5 HDDV6&7 HDDV8A HDDV8B HDDTB HDDSB
Why Focus on School Bus Emissions? Elevated Levels On-Board (New Brunswick Lung Association, 2005) Average Concentrations: Walking to School, On- Board School Bus, Ambient Air No Idling, uncongested roads & relatively good air quality PM 2.5 (µg/m 3 ) PM 1.0 (particles/ cc Black Carbon (ug/m 3 ) PAHs (ng/m 3 ) Walking 9.7 4,000 0.2 265 School Bus Ambient Air 32.1 11,000 0.7 775 5.0 4
What is Diesel Particulate Matter (DPM)? 80-95% fine particulate matter 1-20% ultra-fine particles Includes hydrocarbons such as PAHs Deep into lungs & into bloodstream 5
Acute Health Impacts PM 2.5 & DPM Aggravate asthma Increase respiratory infections Reduce lung function Aggravate allergies Increase school absences Increase emergency room visits, hospital admissions & premature deaths 6
Chronic Health Impacts PM 2.5 & DPM Increase risk of heart disease Increase risk of lung diseases including lung cancer Possibly increase risk of developing asthma 7
Air Pollution Impact on Children Acute effects with short-term exposures increase in asthma symptoms Increase in hospital admissions Increase in respiratory infections Chronic effects with long-term exposures Reduced rate of lung function growth which predisposes to chronic lung & heart disease Possible increase in cases of asthma 800,000 Ontario children use school buses Small increase in health risk can result in significant # of health impacts 8
Ontario s Current Fleet of School Buses 15,000 school buses; mostly diesel 3400 tonnes smog-forming air pollutants 30% buses - pre-1994 (12-21 years) Emit 10-25 kg of PM/year each 70% buses - 1994-2006 (0-11 years) Emit about 4 kg of PM/year each 2007 Model Year Buses Will emit about 0.4 kg of PM/year each 9
Emissions Different Model Years 2006-2016 for PM, NOx & HC (Torrie, 2005) Annual PM Emissions, Status Quo Projection 2,500 Tonnes Annual NOx Emissions, Status Quo Projection 100 Tonnes A: Pre 91 B: 1991-1993 C: 1994-2003 D: 2004-2006 E: 2007-2009 F: 2010 & later 2,000 1,500 90 1,000 80 500 70 60-2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 A: Pre 91 B: 1991-1993 C: 1994-2003 D: 2004-2006 E: 2007-2009 F: 2010 & later 50 40 700 600 Tonnes Annual HC Emissions, Status Quo Projection 30 500 20 400 10 300 200-2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 100-2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 A: Pre 91 B: 1991-1993 C: 1994-2003 D: 2004-2006 E: 2007-2009 F: 2010 & later 10
Emission Reduction Options Maintenance & Operation Practices Retrofitting DOCs, DPFs, & Engine Filters Replacing new Diesel, CNG & HEV Fuel Switching - Biodiesel 11
Emissions Analysis, Individual School Buses, 1994-2003 Model Year 5,000 Figure 17: Ontario's School Buses, Annual PM Emissions per Bus, Cohort C (Grams/Year) Base CNG B20 80,000 Figure 18: Ontario's School Buses, Annual HC Emissions per Bus, Cohort C, (Grams/Year) Base CNG 4,000 3,000 2,000 1,000 DOC DPF Replacement 60,000 40,000 20,000 B20 DOC DPF Replacement 0 0 Figure 19: Ontario's School Buses, Annual NOx Emissions per Bus, Cohort C, (Grams/year) 200,000 150,000 100,000 50,000 0 Base CNG B20 DOC DPF Replacement 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 Figure 20: Ontario's School Buses, Annual GHG Emissions per Bus, Cohort C (Kilogram s/year) Base Case CNG B20 DOC DPF Replacement 12
Exposure Impacts Conventional Diesel & DOC Retrofit Clean Air Task Force, 2005 Red PM2.5 Black Ultra-fine PM Top conventional diesel school bus Bottom Retrofit with DOC Not much impact Maybe HC impact 13
Exposure Impacts - ULSD & DPF vs. Crankcase Filter Red PM 2.5 Black Ultra-Fine PM Top ULSD & DPF Huge Impact on Ultrafine PM Bottom ULSD & Crankcase Filter Huge Impact on PM 2.5 14
Exposure Impacts - ULSD, DPF & Crankcase Filter vs. Conventional Diesel Red PM2.5 Black Ultra-fine PM Top ULSD & DPF & Crankcase Filter Huge Reductions in PM 2.5 & Ultra-fine PM Bottom Conventional Diesel 15
OPHA Recommendations Healthy School Bus Program Ministry of Environment Multi-year Program $10-20 million/yr Replacement of older buses & retrofitting of newer buses Environment Canada Multi-year Fund $10-20 million/yr 16
What can be done at a Local Level? Support OPHA Recommendations Develop Idling Policies & Factsheets Emphasize doors closed when engines on Start buses after children are on-board Develop Healthy School Bus Plans Describe fleet (age, size and routes) Assess replacement/retrofit options with and without supplementary funds Give priority to retirement pre-1994 buses Give priority to crankcase filters ($400/bus) Assign routes with awareness of bus age 17
OPHA School Bus Report www.opha.on.ca/resources/schoolbus.pdf 18