Reducing air pollution caused by diesel vehicles is the goal of the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality's annual Go Red program.
The program funds private, public and nonprofit projects that will reduce diesel emissions in the state each year, said Katherine Benenati, a department spokesman.
"You see a lot of older diesels on the road," Benenati said. "These engines can be out there for decades and they are expensive to replace. It is just one part of the puzzle."
The department has received $164,672 in funds for 2014 from the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act and the Environmental Protection Agency. It has received about $1.5 million in funds for the reduction of diesel emissions since 2008.
Past projects funded by the program include the purchase of new vehicles such as buses, backhoes and equipment used by school districts, counties and private companies, according to department documents.
Diesel emissions can cause acute and chronic effects on an individual's health, said William Mason, Arkansas Department of Health branch chief for public health preparedness and emergency response.
"Acute effects include irritation of the eyes, lungs and entire respiratory tract, and exacerbation of underlying health conditions such as asthma and COPD [chronic obstructive pulmonary disease]," Mason said. "Long-term exposure has been linked to cancer."
Mason said studies have shown that lung function declines as the level of diesel pollution increases.
Children are more susceptible to diesel pollutants, Mason said. He said children breathe in more air in proportion to their body weight than adults do. He said exposure can cause asthma.
Benenati said people often think they aren't exposed to diesel fumes if they do not live in industrial regions.
"A lot of these diesel engines are operating around schools, hospitals and places where people work," Benenati said.
Garbage trucks, schools buses and equipment used by road departments are examples of vehicles that can emit diesel pollution, Benenati said.
The EPA has updated standards for diesel emissions on vehicles, Benenati said. However, because diesel vehicles are expensive to replace, equipment with outdated emissions standards often remains on the roadways for decades.
County Line School District, located in Branch in Franklin County, received about $20,000 toward the purchase of a new $80,000 bus last year, Superintendent Taylor Gattis said.
"Being awarded that grant really enabled us to spend that $20,000 on our kids," Gattis said. The district was able to save the money it would have spent on the bus and purchased textbooks and computers instead.
Gattis said the district tries to retire an older school bus every year and replace it with a new one, "That way our oldest buses are only 10 years old."
A wide variety of pollutants such as carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxide in diesel exhaust are tracked by the EPA.
Large diesel engines emitted 49,170 tons of nitrogen oxide in Arkansas in 2011, according to EPA data. That same year, neighboring Texas had a nitrogen oxide emission rate of 258,246 tons, while Mississippi had 38,445 tons.
The funds can also be used to upgrade vehicles to reduce emissions. J.D. and Billy Hines Trucking, based in Prescott, used the funds to install 13 vehicle exhaust controls in their vehicles in 2010, an Environmental Quality Department report shows.
Applications for the grant can be found on the department's website. A rolling deadline will be used until all funds are awarded or until April 30. The first proposal deadline is Dec. 31. Every deadline after that will be at the end of each month.
A free workshop about the program will be held at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. Dec. 18 at the department's North Little Rock office at 5301 Northshore Drive.
Benenati said that almost all projects that meet program criteria have been awarded grants in previous years.
NW News on 12/08/2014