IOWA SCHOOLS MAKE HUGE CUTS IN BUS EMISSIONS

DES MOINES - Iowa's fleet of nearly 5,000 school buses is emitting 27 percent less harmful soot thanks to an ongoing voluntary cleanup effort that began in 2001, state officials announced today.

The emission reduction effort is part of the Bus Emission Education Program (BEEP), a non-profit collaborative effort of state and private groups. This week BEEP honored 75 Iowa school districts at the Iowa Pupil Transportation Association conference in Des Moines for their work in reducing emissions, saving fuel and prolonging engine life.

Twice annually, school buses undergo voluntary emissions tests that examine the amount of light blocked by soot and particulate matter. Dense, black tailpipe smoke signals engine deterioration and wasted fuel and a need for immediate repairs. The results are given to the schools, who use the data to target repairs of higher emitting buses in their fleet.

"This is a tremendous and unprecedented voluntary cleanup of harmful pollutants," said DNR Director Jeffrey Vonk, who presented awards to schools at the Iowa Pupil Transportation Association meeting in Des Monies earlier this week.

Reducing harmful diesel exhaust is a national priority with the U.S. EPA as children spend many hours riding school buses or near idling buses on playgrounds and schoolyards.

BEEP was formed to address the health concerns of diesel school bus emissions - linked to cancer, heart and lung disease and asthma. Nearly 50,000 Iowa children have asthma, a leading cause of school absenteeism.

The BEEP initiative is the first voluntary school bus emissions testing program in the nation. BEEP is a partnership among the Iowa Department of Education, Department of Natural Resources, School Administrators of Iowa, Iowa Pupil Transportation Association and Mirenco Inc.

For more information log on to www.beeponline.org.