Clean Diesel Projects Receive Millions from EPA
As part of an ongoing campaign to reduce harmful diesel exhaust that can lead to premature deaths and asthma attacks, the EPA has awarded $30 million for clean diesel projects.
Diesel engines are known as durable and fuel efficient, but older diesel engines that were manufactured before the cleaner standards emit large amounts of air pollution. Nitrogen oxide (NOx) and particulate matter (PM) are examples of this air pollution that have been linked to various health problems, such as asthma, premature death, and lung and heart disease.
The Diesel Emission Reduction Program (DERA) replaces and repowers older diesel engines on trains, marine vessels, trucks, and buses, which helps decrease the amount of emission from these engines. As part of the grant received from EPA, the clean diesel projects will begin to work on the 11 million older diesel engines that emit high levels of air pollution.
Winners of this year’s competition were selected by the potential for increasing environmental and health benefits by targeting areas that have a high level of air quality issues. Reducing air pollution from diesel engines in these areas can have a significant and direct impact on community health.
Since 2008, EPA has given DERA more than 500 grants nationwide for clean diesel projects. The projects have helped reduce hundreds of thousands of tons of air pollution and saved millions of gallons of fuel.
To learn more about these grants and the National Clean Diesel Campaign, please visit: www.epa.gov/cleandiesel.