University at Buffalo - The State University of New York

Published: November 1, 2007

From left, UB students Susan Cronin and Adam Blair, and Brian Beckmann of Clean Air Technologies International consult equipment installed on a Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda school bus to monitor diesel emissions from the bus.
PHOTO: NANCY J. PARISI

By MARY COCHRANE
Contributing Editor

Concern about school-bus emissions and potential health risks to children who ride the buses every day has prompted several area school districts to turn several of their buses into air-quality testing grounds with help from environmentally conscious students from UB.

The students, members of the UB chapter of Engineers for a Sustainable World (ESW), are partnering with Erie County on a program that aims to reduce diesel emissions in school buses.

Called the Erie County Clean School Bus Initiative (ECCSBI), the program plans to use data that the UB students gather through testing to educate school district administrators, faculty, parents and students about the issue, as well as convince them to install equipment on buses to decrease what some researchers consider to be deadly fumes.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is funding the initiative through a grant to Erie County, according to Bonnie Lawrence, environmental project manager for the county, prompted by research that shows that diesel emissions from the very vehicles presumed to safely transport students are threatening their health. More than 40 known carcinogens—all of which the EPA considers toxic—are part of the exhaust from diesel engines.

UB students will install monitoring equipment in some of the buses from each of six school districts to test air inside and outside the vehicles. The county then will retrofit those buses with emissions-reducing equipment later this month. Once that equipment is in place—catalytic converters to filter tailpipe emissions and a crankcase filter to clean air in the bus interior—the UB students will return to repeat the air-quality tests, documenting any changes that occur.

The first six school districts participating in the program are Akron, Grand Island, Iroquois, Kenmore-Tonawanda, Lancaster and Sweet Home. Lawrence said the county grant will fund the retrofitting of the remainder of those districts' buses—254 in all—by the end of the year. Meanwhile, the county is working to secure funding to eventually install the same equipment on buses in its other 23 school districts.

UB joined the county efforts earlier this year after the ESW students had proposed several emissions-reduction programs for the university, including running its shuttle buses and other vehicles on cleaner-burning biodiesel fuel.

At the time, Chris Austin, assistant director of UB Parking and Transportation Services, advised them to get some of their own scientific data down on paper first.

"He (Austin) felt that if we provided the school with firsthand data that biodiesel burns cleaner and is healthier to breathe in, then that would really push the school forward to switching over," said Adam Blair, a sophomore environmental design major. "They wanted some good data from us, the students, instead of just data from outside research."

To accomplish this, the students turned to Robert Baier, executive director of the Industry/University Center on Biosurfaces (IUCB) and professor of oral diagnostic sciences in the School of Dental Medicine.

"They made an appointment with me a year ago, knowing I had this interest and access to the necessary equipment, to discuss creating an experiment with regard to moving from diesel to biodiesel," Baier said.

IUCB already was conducting a program with funding from the New York State Office of Science, Technology and Academic Research (NYSTAR) in conjunction with the Environmental Quality Center headquartered at Syracuse University.

Clean Air Technologies International Inc., a local industry partner, provided Baier with its portable monitoring system, which tests exhaust emissions by attaching two sensors on the tailpipe and installing a computer inside the bus. Baier also was able to provide the students with an Aircuity system, which logs the air quality inside the buses during standard operations.

Erie County then called this past spring, and Baier was able to sign up his students and equipment for the ECCSBI.

Lawrence said the county is grateful for UB's participation in the program, which in addition to assisting schools with making changes related to transportation management, inspection and maintenance, provides information to bus drivers on anti-idling strategies "to improve the health of the school population, as well as reduce emissions, smog, ozone depletion and respiratory illness."

The ESW students are grateful, too, for the chance to perform some hands-on research. Being able to carry out actual testing "is actually the most interesting part," according to sophomore Siddhesh Prasad, a chemical and biological engineering major.

"There will be a market for biodiesel someday because that's the future," Prasad said. "The point of this project is not to tell someone they are wrong (for using diesel), but to change the way we think."

Blair noted the ECCSBI testing, and other projects that ESW has planned fit well with UB's commitment to environmental stewardship.

"Our president, John Simpson, is all about setting an example as a university committed to environmental sustainability. So this is a good opportunity to show other schools what we are doing," Blair said.

Enabling undergraduates to get involved in research is another benefit of the partnership with Erie County, one that ESW hopes will speak well for the students when they propose future projects at UB, Blair said.

"Once we complete this, we can show UB that we can gather decent data and that we have the skills, so then UB will be more likely to let us continue with our research," he said.

Chris Llop, president of the ESW chapter, agreed.

"One of our goals with this process is it takes advantage of the fact that this is a research university, so let's make this a learning opportunity. It doesn't end with biodiesel and emissions testing. The ability to do testing, the ability to carry out research—these are things that can be used in many situations."

Baier said the ESW students have the ability to make a difference in the Erie County school districts and beyond.

"They are going to do brilliant research with it," Baier said. "But what's important is that they are working with government and private companies. We're taking this spontaneous student interest and making a better world, putting it together with industry and helping it grow. The cooperation from government agencies is all to the good because it brings results to the public sooner."