Clean Diesel Program Is Clear Success, Says US EPA
Friday, October 23rd, 2009
The EPA says in a report to Congress that the Clean Diesel Program is working as planned. The program, funded at $50 million last year, allowed EPA to fund the purchase or retrofitting of 14,000 diesel-powered vehicles and pieces of equipment, reducing the potential for respiratory illnesses and saving money in communities nationwide.
The resulting benefits from the program include:
- reducing 46,000 tons of nitrogen oxide, a key contributor to elevated smog levels, and 2,200 tons of particulate matter over the lifetime of diesel vehicles
- conserving 3.2.million gallons of fuel annually under the SmartWay Clean Diesel Finance Program, which saves operators $8 million annually
- generating public health benefits between $500 million to $1.4 billion
In a new study conducted by the University of Cincinnati (UC), environmental health researchers found that major countries in three continents fail to acknowledge the hazards of lead based paint, allowing manufacturers to continue selling consumer paints containing dangerously high levels of lead. According to study, 73 percent of consumer paint brands tested from 12 countries representing 46 percent of the world’s population exceeded current U.S. standard of 600 parts per million (ppm). Additionally, 69 percent of the brands had at least one sample exceeding 10,000 ppm. Scott Clark, a professor of environmental health at UC, stated that “lead paint exposure remains a serious global health threat” considering the majority of American consumer goods are being produced overseas.
