By Sarah Cooper

scooper@dailysparkstribune.com

SPARKS — On a hot day, school bus driver Lori Allen said she might roll the window down as she drives children to and from class. Sometimes, a burst of diesel exhaust from her vehicle blows in as she drives.

Not only is it irritating, for the children the exhaust inhalation can be dangerous.

“I recently read a study that children in the back of the bus inhale more toxic emissions than if they were standing at the back of the bus,” said U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Jared Blumenfeld.

However, some children and bus drivers might now get a little relief from the toxins.

Blumenfeld was at the Getto bus yard in Sparks on Friday for the unveiling of a new clean diesel school bus, paid for by American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus funds. The bus was one of 17 delivered to various Nevada school districts as part of the stimulus fund’s Clean Diesel Grant Program. Each of Nevada’s 15 counties, including Washoe, received one bus with Lyon and Nye counties receiving two each. Clark and Carson counties did not qualify for the program as their buses are newer, more fuel-efficient models.

Blumenfeld was joined by Gov. Jim Gibbons and Allen Biaggi, director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, as well as NDEP administrator Leo Drozdoff at a Friday morning ceremony.

The NDEP received $1.73 million to fund the bus replacements in May 2009. Only existing model year 1991 or older buses were eligible for the replacement program and all but Carson City and Clark counties had buses that qualified.

Allen, along with the government representatives, got a tour of the new bus.

“They are always working on the buses at the mechanic’s yard and they do a good job,” Allen said as she looked over the new bio diesel bus, “but some of the older buses need to go.”

The Washoe County School district transports students on a network of 305 buses. According to school district fleet operations manager Todd Duncan, most of these are 2000 models or newer with about 30 being older than a 1990 model.

“Every pre-1990 model bus is estimated to emit as much as 60 times more pollution than the buses that we delivered to local school districts today,” Drozdoff said.

According to an EPA fact sheet:

Diesel exhaust contains significant levels of small particles, known as fine particulate matter. Fine particles are so small that several thousand of them could fit on the period at the end of this sentence. Fine particles pose a significant health risk because they can pass through the nose and throat and lodge themselves in the lungs. These fine particles can cause lung damage and premature death. They can also aggravate conditions such as asthma and bronchitis.

The fact sheet goes on to state that the EPA has determined that diesel exhaust is a likely human carcinogen. Diesel exhaust can also contribute to other acute and chronic health effects.

Those at risk include people with existing heart or lung disease, asthma or other respiratory problems. The elderly and children are also at risk, children because their respiratory systems are still developing and they have a faster breathing rate, according to the EPA.

“I am very proud of our efforts to help not only our children but improve quality of life for everyone,” Gibbons said.

According to Blumenfeld, toxic emissions are reduced by 97 percent with the clean diesel buses. If the bus is simply upgraded and retrofitted, those emissions decrease by 40 percent.

Through separate funding from the EPA’s Clean Diesel Grant program, the NDEP is also working with school districts to retrofit 1992 to 2004 model year buses with emission-reducing equipment. According to Duncan, about 175 buses have been retrofitted in Washoe County.

The NDEP and the Nevada State Office of Energy received $1.5 million in funding for the retrofit program.

This effort will provide enough funding to retrofit all of the state’s 1992-2004 public school buses, according to an EPA press release. To date, the NDEP has received applications and determined that 431 buses statewide are eligible for the retrofits.