DEP has made the reduction of diesel emissions in school buses a priority because the health issues associated with diesel exhaust are exacerbated in children. {Norwich School Bus} In Connecticut nearly 387,000 children ride 6,500 school buses each day. Of those 6,500 buses, 99% are diesel fueled. The amount of time a child spends on the bus every day varies from 20 minutes to several hours per day. Collectively, Connecticut children spend 50 million hours on buses each year.  Exhaust from diesel engines is a significant contributor to air pollution and has been classified as a probable human carcinogen by EPA and a Toxic Air Contaminant by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

DEP's initial diesel retrofit efforts prioritized school bus retrofits based on health risks posed to children by diesel exhaust, air quality monitoring data, and available funding sources.  In addition to the health based factors detailed above, analysis of increasing trends in diesel engine use and lifespan also lead DEP to focus on Construction and Fleet diesel retrofit projects.  Funding opportunities in the Construction and Fleet areas are developing and DEP has broadened the scope of our efforts to capitalize on these retrofit opportunities.

The Union of Concerned Scientists published a national study entitled, "School Bus Pollution Report Card 2006, Grading the States".  Connecticut was one of five states to score better than the national average in all three categories evaluated.

Diesel Retrofit Efforts in Connecticut