Research
The following studies reflect a range of research about pollution from school buses and children's exposure to this pollution. EPA does not endorse these studies. EPA and others are doing additional work to further study exposure to pollution from school buses.
Los Angeles School Bus Exposure Assessment
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Co-funded: California Air Resources Board and EPA/with University of California
Overview/Purpose
- Identify children's exposures to exhaust from school buses
- Obtain measurements of in-bus and near-bus pollutant concentrations during normal school bus operations across the full range of anticipated conditions (e.g., following high emitters, in caravans, driving on streets and on freeways).
- Identify commuting situations resulting in high-end exposures
Environment and Human Health Incorporated and Researchers from Yale University
Natural Resources Defense Council
"No Breathing in the Aisles - Diesel Exhaust Inside School Buses"
Union of Concerned Scientists
Union of Concerned Scientists, Pollution Report Card: Grading America's School Bus Fleets (PDF, 8 pages, 382K)
This February 2001 study from NRDC and the Coalition for Clean Air shows that children who ride a diesel school bus may be exposed to up to four times more toxic diesel exhaust than someone traveling in a car directly in front of it.
Study sponsored by International Truck and Engine Corporation and ConocoPhillips
New Research Compares Exhaust Emissions from School Buses In Compressed Natural Gas, Low-Emitting Diesel and Conventional Diesel Configurations