Buffalo Rising Online

May 15th, 2:41pm By Eli George

Ever since 2007, new requirements on school bus manufacturing make it mandatory to have a crankcase filter as well as an upgraded catalytic converter. Unfortunately, most buses in service need to be retrofitted to have these upgrades. Enter Tom Hersey, Coordinator-Pollution Prevention Program.

Hersey, along with Alan J. Steinberg, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Regional Administrator, Chris Collins, Erie County Executive, and school district leaders were all on hand at the Rath Building, 95 Franklin Street, to announce the receipt of another grant from the EPA. A retrofitted school bus was even on site for visuals.

Hersey has already been working on retrofitting old buses and yesterday’s announcement marked the second grant from the EPA’s Clean School Bus Initiative. The first grant saw school buses from Kenton, Iroquois, Akron, Lancaster, Grand Island, Lakeshore, and Sweet Home schools retrofitted. For this grant, Hersey partnered with the Fisher Bus Company who service Orchard Park and Hamburg school districts.

“Those were the three that were interested in partnering with us at this point. It’s our goal to try to upgrade all the school buses in Erie County that need upgrading,” says Hersey.

The crankcase filter reduces the number of particulates and emissions during acceleration and start up and the upgraded catalytic converter goes on the exhaust line to prevent more emissions coming out of the tailpipe. With this grant they will also be experimenting with another piece of equipment that serves as an engine warmer, preventing the need to idle the bus in the morning to warm it up.

Hersey says, “By riding the bus you are exposed to a higher level of contaminants than walking. Those are the two issues we’re trying to address: the air quality within the bus and the air quality coming out of the tailpipe.”

This program is an Energy Program in the Erie County Department of Environment and Planning. Hersey says the program has been trying to do outreach to the different school districts that have not shown an interest in partnering together to get another grant. They even produced a low budget DVD with a few professors from the University at Buffalo to educate bus drivers about idling.

The main goal is to try to use anti-idling strategies while parking the bus in relation to buildings and other buses, to decrease student exposure to tailpipe emissions. If anyone would like more information on this program or if you would like a DVD, you can contact Tom Hersey at 858-7674.