PARTICULATES, AIR POLLUTION & PUBLIC HEALTH
There are many sources of air pollution. Two of the most obvious are the plumes of black smoke discharged from factory stacks and the tailpipes of big diesel trucks. One of the main constituents of that smoke is particulate mater (PM), small particles of fuel ingredients that don’t burn completely, such as arsenic, benzene, and sulfate salts. The visible smoke is really a cloud of particulate matter. The more particulate matter present, the thicker the smoke and the more damaging to public health. The two major anthropogenic sources of PM are power plants and diesel engines. Combustion in power plants and diesel engines releases PM into the air along with many other pollutants.

Particulate Matter & Human Health
There are two characteristics of PM that make it a danger to human health: what it’s made up of and the size of the particles. Some particulates are carcinogenic, such as benzene, formaldehyde, and arsenic which are found in diesel exhaust. All told, diesel exhaust contains at least 40 hazardous chemicals. In addition to causing cancer, exposure to these particles can cause asthma attacks. The California Air Resources Board and the World Health Organization have both declared soot from diesel vehicles to be a human carcinogen.

Particulate matter can also be dangerous because of its extremely small size. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set air quality standards for particulate matter that is as small as 10 microns (PM 10), but research has shown that even more dangerous may be fine particles that are less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM 2.5). Because of its extremely small size (less than one-hundredth the width of a human hair), PM 2.5 is not caught by the body’s natural defenses and lodges itself deep in the lungs. Fine particles can damage the respiratory tract and cause cardiac failure. PM 2.5 aggravates asthma, pneumonia, and cardiovascular disease. Researchers estimate that as many as 60,000 people die prematurely each year because of exposure to fine particles.

The EPA is in the process of amending its air quality standards to include a limit on PM 2.5. It is projected that under the new EPA standards all of New York City, along with Suffolk, Nassau, Westchester, and Rockland counties will fail to meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for PM 2.5 pollution.

Children, the elderly, and anyone with heart disease, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis are especially at risk from PM. Children breathe 50percent more air per pound of body weight than adults do. Because children’s respiratory systems are still developing they are generally more susceptible to air pollution than adults. The elderly have a lifetime of wear and tear on their lungs and exposure to PM can put enough stress on their respiratory systems to induce serous health problems.

Power Plants
Sulfur dioxide, which causes acid rain, nitrogen oxides, which cause smog, carbon dioxide which causes global warming, and power plants are large sources of PM. To reduce the amount of PM pollution emitted by power plants, the nation’s oldest power plants must be brought up to modern pollution standards. The nation’s oldest power plants (most of which are coal plants) are exempt from today’s air pollution laws because of a loophole in the Clean Air Act. When the Clean Air Act was amended in 1970 and 1977, it was assumed that many of the oldest power plants would soon be retired and replaced with new plants and should therefore be exempt from the new air quality standards. Unfortunately, many of these old plants continue to operate today, emitting far more pollution than modern plants. The technology exists to cleanup these plants, but until these they are required to meet modern emission standards, there is little chance that they will reduce emissions. The federal government needs to close this loophole in the Clean Air Act and bring all power plants up to modern emissions standards. Researchers estimate that bringing the oldest power plants up to the current pollution standards would save over 22,000 lives a year.

To fully protect its citizens, the federal government should pass legislation mandating 75percent reductions from power plants in all four of the major pollutants; nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxides, mercury, and carbon dioxide. This measure will save lives by reducing PM emissions and will have the additional benefits of reducing acid rain, smog, and carbon pollution, which causes global warming. In the absence of initiative from the federal government, state governments can take leadership roles by mandating statewide reductions of all four major pollutants from power plants.

Diesel Fuel
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that although they account for only 2percent of all vehicles on the road, diesel-powered trucks and account for one third of nitrous oxide (NOx) emissions, and nearly one quarter of particulate matter (PM) emissions from mobile sources. Diesel trucks typically emit up to one hundred times the pollution of a standard car. Release of diesel fuel into the environment occurs due to poor refinement processes, high sulfur content and incomplete combustion of fuel. This in turn leads to a number of hazardous chemicals being released into the air that we breathe.

The most recent set of standards put out by the EPA to govern diesel emissions became effective March 19, 2000. These regulations plan to cut nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions by 95percent and particulate matter emissions by 90percent by the year 2007. The 2007 program is based on the utilization of catalytic exhaust emission control devices or comparable equipment. Unfortunately, the sulfur present in diesel fuels damages the new equipment, and therefore changes must be made within the oil refining industry to compensate for this problem. So the EPA has enacted additional legislation pertaining to the oil industry alongside the 2007 program. It will require the oil industry to reduce the amount of sulfur present in diesel fuel from 500 ppm to 15 ppm. This action, which takes effect June 1, 2006, will reduce the sulfur content in diesel by 97percent. The EPA projects that by 2030, annual emissions of NOx will be reduced by 2.6 million tons, while nonmethane hydrocarbons and PM emissions will be reduced by 115,000 and 109,000 tons, respectively..

New York has also taken steps to reduce pollution from diesel engines, but much remains to be done. The Clean-Fuel Bus Program provides state assistance for clean-fueled busses and associated infrastructure projects for municipalities. This program provides funding to purchase and explore new technologies such as compressed natural gas (CNG), hybrid electric diesel and battery-powered electric busses. In addition, the Metropolitan Transit Authority (MTA) is implementing a plan to purchase 550 new clean-fuel busses, retrofit existing diesel buses with emission controls and construct a new heavy-duty vehicle testing laboratory. While this is a step in the right direction, there is still a long way to go. New York has the largest fleet of school buses in the country, more than the second and third largest fleets combined. Virtually all New York school buses still run on diesel; only 70 out of the 54,579 run on alternative fuel. In addition, little progress has been made in converting tour buses and vehicles for the elderly and disabled. In addition, much more can be done to improve the transit infrastructure. Railroads provide an efficient way to move goods and reduce dependence on diesel tractor-trailers. While other U.S. cities move 40percent of their freight by rail, New York City is far behind at just 5percent; it depends instead on trucks for over 90percent of its freight hauling. New York City also lacks a cross-harbor freight rail tunnel and associated infrastructure to support interstate goods movement. Consequently, freight containers coming into ports in New Jersey must be loaded onto tractor-trailers to cross the Hudson.

Environmental Advocates of New York considers diesel engines a threat to both human health and the environment. Environmental Advocates supports legislation at the state level that works toward the creation and utilization of alternative fuel sources, works to lower the presence of sulfur in diesel fuel and promotes the acquisition and use of cleaner vehicles.