Fort Wayne Community School Buses Going Green

Fort Wayne Community School's buses are going green.
Thursday morning, FWCS unveiled 90 buses that have cleaner exhaust systems.
They were paid for in part with a $99,000 grant of of federal stimulus money awarded to the American Lung Association.
In October 2009, the American Lung Association awarded FWCS and Cummins Crosspoint $99,000 to install Cummins Diesel Oxidation Catalysts on 90 FWCS buses in an effort to reduce emissions.
Each day, a fleet of 300 buses takes more than 21,000 FWCS students to and from school. The cleaner exhaust system is estimated to benefit about 2,100 students who suffer from asthma.
"Cleaner air benefits everyone, but it is especially important for our students with breathing issues, such as those with asthma, and other medically fragile children," said Mary Hess, health services specialists. "Every step we can take to reduce pollutants in the air is a positive step."
FWCS said the objective of the grant from the ALA was to prevent the emission of nitrogen oxides, fine particles (soot) and toxins that are emitted in diesel exhaust.
Nitrogen oxides are precursors of ozone and when breathed, can lodge deep in the lungs.
FWCS said it wants to make sure pollution from diesel vehicles is reduced to prevent health complications for everyone, especially children.
"The more buses that we have that are burning cleaner, the better that is for the air in general. And the better that is for people and our children with chronic breathing problems," said Krista Stockman, FWCS spokesperson.
Diesel oxidation catalysts use a chemical process to break down pollutants in the exhaust stream into less harmful components. The expected lifespan on a diesel oxidation catalyst exhaust system is about 7-15 years.

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