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Basic Information
- What is Clean Agriculture USA?
- Why is it Important?
- How Does Clean Agriculture USA Help?
- What is My Role?
What is Clean Agriculture USA?
As part of EPA’s National Clean Diesel Campaign (NCDC), Clean Agriculture USA is an incentive-based, innovative program designed to reduce emissions from existing diesel engines.
Why is it important?
Air pollution from diesel exhaust is a public health concern that reaches every part of the country. There are two main pollutants of concern in diesel exhaust that affect human health. They are particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen oxides (NOx).
PM has been associated with an increased risk of premature mortality, hospital admissions for heart and lung disease, and increased respiratory symptoms. Long-term exposure to diesel exhaust is likely to pose a lung cancer hazard.
In addition, NOx contributes to ozone, which can aggravate asthma and other respiratory diseases, leading to more asthma attacks, the use of additional medication, more severe symptoms that require a doctor's attention, more visits to the emergency room, and increased hospitalizations. Ozone can inflame and damage the lining of the lungs. This may lead to permanent changes in lung tissue and irreversible reductions in lung function. If the inflammation occurs repeatedly over a long period of time, the condition may lead to a lower quality of life. Children, people with heart and lung disease, and the elderly are most at risk.
PM, NOx, and ozone adversely affect the environment in various ways including visibility impairment, crop damage, and acid rain.
EPA has enacted tough new standards for new diesel engines, but those stringent standards will not affect emissions from the older diesel engines currently in operation. These existing diesel engines have a long life span, lasting as much as 25 to 30 years, or more, and will continue to emit large amounts of harmful pollutants.
How Does Clean Agriculture USA Help?
EPA's Clean Agriculture USA program works through collaborative partnerships across the country to bring cost-effective diesel emission-reduction initiatives into the field. Specifically, EPA
- provides technical support,
- funds demonstration projects,
- identifies funding opportunities, and
- offers education and outreach.
What is My Role?
State and Local Government Policy Makers
As policy makers of state and local governments, you can create your own clean diesel program.
Fleet Managers, Equipment Owner and Operators, and Farmers
There are many options you can choose from to reduce emissions including adopting idle-reduction practices that reduce fuel consumption and installing after treatment technologies.
For more information, read about What You Can Do.