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Truck and bus operators to study idle emissions controls 19 July 2001 ©2001, Environmental News Network Jerry Kay (news@enn.com). Permission obtained on August 2001. E-mail message. Anyone who has ever traveled America's highways has pulled into a gas station or a rest stop where diesel trucks and buses are standing, waiting for their drivers and passengers to climb aboard. The clouds of smelly diesel fumes from these idling vehicles can be choking, and they create haze that obscures visibility in open areas. Urban buses can put out the same diesel emissions while waiting in transfer areas or in traffic jams. New technologies that control emissions from idling diesel engines do exist, but many bus and truck operators don't know how to implement them. Northern Arizona University is stepping in to bridge this gap with a workshop in August for owners and operators of diesel powered vehicles and large truck stops. It will address air emissions and fuel consumption from idling diesel trucks and buses in the Southwestern United States.  The Flagstaff, Ariz., university has been awarded a $25,000 grant from the Environmental Protection Agency to host the workshop.  EPA Administrator Christie Whitman said, "Emissions from idling trucks and buses contribute to air pollution and haze throughout the nation, including areas such as Phoenix, Albuquerque, Las Vegas, and Denver. Reducing air pollution from diesel vehicles will help improve visibility and air quality in many of our country's national parks and wilderness areas."  The workshop is in two parts. The first will focus on owners and operators of tour buses carrying millions of visitors annually to Grand Canyon National Park, Ariz.; Mesa Verde National Park, Colo.; American Indian lands; and other publicly and privately owned attractions in the Southwest.  Owners and operators will learn about the various idling control technologies that exist today and how to implement these technologies.  The workshop will also focus on how these technologies can reduce emissions from idling vehicles at truck stops and other rest areas. Installing and using idling control technologies can reduce harmful carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by up to 90 percent.  With fuel prices now at 10-year highs, the trucking industry has been forced to reexamine fuel conservation strategies to remain competitive.  The American Trucking Associations (ATA) says that engine idling not associated with normal driving makes up as much as 30 to 50 percent of truck operating hours. Fuel consumption tests conducted by the ATA Technology and Maintenance Council reveal that heavy-duty diesel trucks consume one gallon of fuel for every two hours of idling.  The ATA says the trucking industry purchases 43 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel annually. It can cost nearly $500 each time truckers fill up the fuel tanks on their 18-wheelers, a powerful incentive to save the fuel consumed by idling. EPA's idling initiative is part of the Voluntary Diesel Retrofit Program, which is designed to reduce emissions and save fuel from existing diesel vehicles and equipment by installing idle-control technologies.  Idle-control technologies provide potential reductions of carbon dioxide of approximately 8.1 million tons per year and the potential reductions of diesel fuel consumption of approximately 1.2 billion gallons per year, according to the EPA. The agency's idling program brings together partners such as the Department of Energy, the Department of Transportation, the American Trucking Associations, the National Association of Truck Stop Operators, manufacturers of idle-control technologies, local fleet operators, and truck-stop operators. All of these organizations work together to implement idle-control strategies.

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