Diesel Trains are Big Polluters
How You Can Help
Diesel trains are
big polluters – bigger than federal regulators had realized.
As the Washington Post notes
Click here >>,
the U.S. EPA reports that unless something is done to correct the
problem, trains eventually will collectively emit more pollution than
all the trucks on the road!
EPA scientists
recognize this is a real problem, but freight-hauling railroads are
balking at cleaning up the deadly mess they make.
But there is
something you can do to help: Urge EPA to take swift
action to clean up train pollution.
Below is a potential
model – a letter sent to EPA by Clean Air Watch and several other
prominent clean-air advocates. It makes reference to both train and
marine diesel engines since EPA is likely to tackle both at the same
time.
Here’s how to
contact EPA:
E-mail:
locomarine@epa.gov. Specify docket number OAR-2003-0190 in the
body of the message and copy
Bunker.Byron@epamail.epa.gov
Fax:
(202) 260-4400
Regular Mail:
Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket, Mailcode 6102T, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC, 20460. Also note docket number
OAR-2003-0190
**
August 9, 2006
The Honorable
Stephen L. Johnson
Administrator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
Mail code 1101A
Washington, D.C. 20460
Cc: William Wehrum, Robert Brenner, Margo Oge
Dear Administrator
Johnson,
Earlier this year state and local clean air agencies and more than 50
environmental and public health organizations sent you a letter
respectfully requesting your leadership in taking swift action to clean
up the harmful diesel exhaust from marine vessels and locomotives. Since
then, the case has only become more urgent for addressing this pressing
human health and environmental problem.
It now appears that
projected locomotive emissions are far higher than originally estimated.
In fact, NOx emissions estimates from locomotives increased to more than
800,000 tons in 2030, and PM emissions estimates increased to a
staggering 25,000 tons in 2030. In addition, according to EPA, about
half of all Americans now live in counties that fail to meet basic
healthy air standards. This includes the 474 counties, home to 159
million Americans, out of full compliance with the health-based
eight-hour ozone standard, and the 208 counties representing more than
57 million Americans out of full compliance with the health-based
particulate pollution standard.
State implementation
plans are due in June, 2007 for ozone and in April, 2008 for PM. It is
vitally important that states not only be able to count on rigorous
reductions from the new fleet of marine vessels and locomotives, but
also on immediate interim reductions in order to meet their attainment
goals in a timely manner. The pollution coming from marine vessels and
locomotives plays a key part in our country’s nonattainment problems and
this pollution contributes to lung cancer, heart attacks, asthma
attacks, strokes, diminished lung capacity in kids and premature death.
Reductions today can prevent a host of health effects tomorrow.
Therefore, our
organizations respectfully urge the Agency to issue, as soon as
possible, both an aftertreatment-based standard for marine vessels and
locomotives to take effect no later than 2013 for PM and 2014 for NOx .
and a strong interim standard for ships and locomotives to address
pollution from existing engines while we wait for the aftertreatment-based
standard to phase in.
Thank
you for your continued attention to this important public health issue.
Sincerely,
Paul Billings
American Lung Association
Frank O.Donnell
Clean Air Watch
Janea A. Scott
Environmental Defense
Rich Kassel
Natural Resources Defense Council
S.William Becker
State and Territorial Air Pollution Program Administrators/Association
of Local Air Pollution Control Officials
Don Anair
Union
of Concerned Scientists
Emily Figdor
U.S. Public Interest Research Group |
