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Idling Reduction:
Emissions Testing

EPA was one of the first organizations to comprehensively examine the emissions impacts from idling trucks. EPA's idling study was conducted over a two year period at the U.S. Army's Aberdeen Test Center in Aberdeen, Maryland. A short introductory study with five tests was conducted in June 2001, and a larger study with 37 tests was conducted in May 2002. In the larger study, EPA worked with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Rowan University with funding from the New Jersey Department of Transportation.

EPA's study: "Study of Exhaust Emissions from Idling Heavy-Duty Diesel Trucks and Commercially Available Idle Reducing Devices (PDF)" (12 pp, 1.2MB, EPA 420-R-02-025, October 2002)

EPA is also interested in the health impacts of idling engines on truck drivers. In July 2004, EPA funded an interagency agreement to study the truck cab emissions concentrations inside trucks at a large truck stop in Knoxville, TN. The interagency agreement was awarded to the Oak Ridge National Laboratory as noted in this press advisory. Partners include Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Tennessee. This project is part of the Watt Road Environmental Laboratory Initiative which is on I-40 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

In November 2005, the University of Tennessee published its final report (PDF) (154 pp, 8.8MB) that measures the air pollutant concentrations inside and outside of a truck cab under conditions of extended idling at a truck stop. For more information on this study, contact Dr. Wayne Davis, phone: (865) 974-5321.

SmartWay Transport is maintained by EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality (OTAQ).

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