Rhode Island

Diesel Pollution Initiative: Protecting Rhode Island families from diesel pollution

Diesel Pollution Makes Rhode Islanders Sick

Diesel exhaust contains very fine soot particles and air toxins and is released at the ground level - just where we breathe it in. These tiny particles are inhaled deep in the lungs, where they can trigger asthma and heart attacks and cause lung cancer.

School buses, trucks, construction and industrial equipment, locomotives and marine vessels are all sources of diesel pollution. Since these sources are concentrated in urban areas, people who live and work in cities are exposed to higher levels of risk from health impacts.

Rhode Island at Risk

Providence County ranks within the worst six percent of all counties in the United States for health problems from diesel exhaust. The average lifetime cancer risk from diesel soot for Providence County residents is 330 times higher than the acceptable risk level.

Diesel pollution in Rhode Island threatens our health. Every year, diesel soot causes:

  • 50 premature deaths
  • 80 non-fatal heart attacks
  • 900 asthma attacks
  • 1,400 respiratory symptoms in children
  • 5,500 missed days of work

Source: Clean Air Task Force, An Analysis of Diesel Air Pollution and Public Health in America (Feb. 2005).

The Solutions Are Available Today

Beginning in 2007, federal standards require new diesel engines to be 90% cleaner than they are today. But since these new standards only apply to new engines, older, dirtier diesels will be on Rhode Island's roads and at Rhode Island's job-sites for years to come, unless we act now.

Other Northeastern states, including Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey, are making reducing diesel emissions a top public health priority. Rhode Island should follow this lead and work to reduce diesel pollution in order to minimize exposure and health risks.

In 2006, we beat the special interests and passed the Anti-Idling Act to ban the unnecessary idling of diesel engines.

This year we passed the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, which will clean up many of the state’s school buses. It will also require the state’s oldest, most polluting school buses to be retired. DEM will also issue a report about cleaning up other key fleets of diesel vehicles, such as garbage trucks and vehicles used by and on behalf of the state.

Legislative Solutions to Diesel Pollution

Today we have the technology to reduce diesel pollution across Rhode Island by:

  • Installing diesel particulate filters onto old dirty engines
  • Replacing or rebuilding the diesel fleets that expose Rhode Islanders to the highest levels of pollution

The DEM study must create a roadmap for how Rhode Island can achieve a 75% reduction in diesel pollution by 2015. We have the technology to make this happen. Now we need the state plan and the political will. Support strengthening the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act.

We need to:

  1. Set a goal to reduce diesel emissions by 75% by2015 (as Connecticut has done);
  2. Establish priority fleets for diesel emission reductions (state vehicles and waste disposal vehicles); and
  3. Develop financing mechanisms to defray the costs of retrofitting diesel engines with pollution control technologies.
Take Action

Write a Letter to Your Legislator
Use the sample letter below to help craft a letter to your state Representative or Senator. Please add a sentence about why preventing diesel pollution is important to you. Be sure to ask for a reply and include your full name and address.

Sample Letter:

Dear ________

Pollution from diesel engines is bad for our health and our environment. Rhode Islanders deserve clean air to breathe. Please protect families from unnecessary diesel pollution by supporting the strengthening of the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act. We have a duty to protect Rhode Island families from diesel pollution.

Please add another sentence or two about why this is important to you.

Find your legislator now.
Rhode Island Diesel Pollution Initiative Coalition

For more information, or to sign on, please contact:

Coalition Members

  • Clean Water Action
  • Environment Rhode Island
  • Sierra Club of Rhode Island
  • American Lung Association
  • Environment Northeast
  • Center for Hispanic Policy and Advocacy
  • Environment Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
  • Childhood Lead Action Project
  • Ocean State Action
  • United Nurses and Allied Professionals
  • Environment Council of Rhode Island
  • Groundwork Providence
  • Davey Lopes Recreation Center
  • Amalgamated Transit Union, Division 618
  • Ocean State Clean Cities
  • Ecology Action for Rhode Island
  • Friends of the Moshassuck
  • Green Party of Rhode Island
  • National Association of Social Workers (NASW) RI Chapter
  • National Education Association
  • Elmwood Community Center
  • Ocean State Home Instruction for Parents of Preschool Youngsters
  • Appalachian Mountain Club
  • Solar Wrights/Remodel Wrights
  • Toxics Information Project
  • URI Energy Efficiency Committee
  • Pawtucket Alliance for Downtown Success (PADS)
  • Toxics Action Center
  • Apeiron Institute for Environmental Living
  • Audubon Society of RI
  • Green Machine PR
  • Citizenspeak
  • RI ACORN
  • RI Parent Teacher Association (PTA)
  • American Cancer Society
  • Community Outreach Core of Brown University Superfund Basic Research Project
  • RICOSH
  • RI Society for Respiratory Care