OVER 13,000 DIESEL TRUCKS WILL BE CLEANER NATION-WIDE

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!/OVER 13,000 DIESEL TRUCKS WILL BE CLEANER NATION-WIDE/SCROLL
FOR RELEASE: THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 2001

OVER 13,000 DIESEL TRUCKS WILL BE CLEANER NATION-WIDE

Through partnerships with state and local governments and industry, EPA has received commitments to clean up 13,500
diesel trucks and buses across the country by January 1, surpassing the original goal set last March of 10,000
vehicles. Retrofitting these engines will eliminate more than 15,000 tons of harmful pollution from the air each
year. EPA's Voluntary Diesel Retrofit Program helps build partnerships among industry, community groups, and state
and local officials to implement retrofit projects that result in cleaner, healthier air for their communities.
Cities participating in the program include Boston, New York, Seattle and Washington, DC., and New Jersey and
California are instituting statewide programs. A typical older diesel truck or bus can emit almost 8 tons of
pollution in a year. Heavy duty diesel vehicles are responsible for 22 percent of the nation's particulate matter
(i.e., soot) emissions, and 15 percent of the nation's emissions of smog-causing nitrogen oxides. The retrofitting
of a diesel vehicle involves the installation of an emission control device that reduces the emissions of
particulate matter, nitrogen oxides and other pollutants. More information can be found at:
www.epa.gov/otaq/retrofit.

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