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Action taken on anti-idling regulation

The state Environmental Quality Board adopted a final regulation to limit idling by large diesel trucks and buses last week.

The regulation comes in response to a petition filed by the Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania in October 2006.

“We applaud this landmark action,” said the Rev. Jennifer McKenna, CAB’s president. “We believe a sensible regulation limiting idling emissions from diesel vehicles will protect the health of all Pennsylvanians, particularly those who suffer from respiratory problems.”

The 2006 petition from CAB asked the state Department of Environmental Protection and the EQB to adopt regulations to limit time spent idling by commercial diesel vehicles.

Due to an extensive interstate road system and geography, Pennsylvania has become a transportation and distribution hub for the nation. CAB said it recognizes the significant contribution to the state’s economy of the trucking and transportation industry, but also notes that every truck that idles over a long period of time at rest stops and truck facilities emits pounds of ground level pollutants and contributes to poor air quality.

DEP studies have concluded that Cumberland County experiences the highest number of long duration idling hours in the Commonwealth.

Many of Pennsylvania’s neighboring states have adopted similar limits on idling.

The EQB regulation will be transmitted to the Office of the Attorney General, the state House and Senate and the Independent Regulatory Review Commission for review.

By Jason Scott, Sentinel Reporter, September 23, 2008

Last updated: Tuesday, September 23, 2008 3:18 PM EDT

Greater Carlisle area residents will finally have a place to turn for daily updates on our air pollution levels, which are among the worst in the nation.

The Clean Air Board of Central Pennsylvania, Carlisle Regional Medical Center and The Sentinel announced this morning they have formed a partnership to protect the health of residents living, working, studying and playing in the area by providing them with information that will allow them to make informed health decisions.

This fall, CAB will install a Met One BAM-1020 air quality monitor at The Sentinel’s building in the 400 block of East North Street.

The new monitor, which is the only one certified by the federal Environmental Protection Agency, will provide data on PM 2.5, a fine air particulate linked to a variety of heart and lung ailments, in real time on an ongoing basis.

Pollution levels will be printed in the newspaper daily on the weather page and hour-by-hour updates will be posted on The Sentinel’s Web site. Information on how to interpret the data and other health-related articles will be available on the Web site as well.

A site survey will be conducted next week at The Sentinel.

“This is a big thing for the Clean Air Board,” said member Tom Benjey. “This partnership is probably the first of its kind around the country.”

By continually providing the level of PM 2.5, CAB and its partners are hopeful this will actually improve area resident’s health.

“If they see it’s high and don’t go out and exercise, that should keep some people out of the emergency room,” Benjey said.

A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that short-term spikes in PM 2.5 levels translated into more people being hospitalized.

Health impacts

In the Harrisburg-Carlisle area, diesel exhaust is a significant source of PM 2.5, due to the large concentration of truck traffic and transportation activities on Interstates 81 and 83 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

Scientists and health experts have been unable to identify a safe level of exposure to diesel exhaust — a level below which exposure to diesel PM 2.5 has no health effects.

Being downwind of power plants in Ohio and western Pennsylvania also affects air quality in the midstate.

PM 2.5 particles are about 30 times smaller than a human hair; several thousand of them could fit on the period of a typed sentence. Due to their extremely small size, particles travel deeply into the respiratory tract, reaching the deepest recesses of the lungs.

Exposure can cause short-term health effects such as eye, nose, throat and lung irritation, as well as coughing, sneezing, runny nose and shortness of breath. Long-term effects can cause asthma, chronic bronchitis, reduced lung function and increase mortality from lung cancer and heart disease.

“This is about more than just awareness,” Benjey said. “It’s another part of how people can protect their health.”

Children with asthma can avoid the increase risk of an attack when PM 2.5 levels are high, and school districts can refer to the monitor on high pollution days to make informed decisions about calling off outdoor activities, CAB said.

“As the community’s hospital, we encourage people of all ages to adopt healthy lifestyles that include walking, jogging, participating in outdoor athletic activities and we want them to truly be improving their health while doing these activities,” said Nathan Staggs, CRMC’s chief executive officer. “Realistically, in our region, that means being aware of the air pollutant levels when doing outdoor activities.”

He added: “We are proud to partner with the Clean Air Board and The Sentinel on this very meaningful project.”

Prime location

The new air monitor will replace a portable unit which has been used by CAB to identify areas that are candidates for closer scrutiny by the EPA and state Department of Environmental Protection.

The Sentinel’s location fit the bill as a prime location for the monitor, Benjey explained, because it is on the eastern edge, or downwind side, of the borough’s residential population.

“The Sentinel location is not going to show the worst pollution, but it will be representative for the area,” he said. “Pollution people going outside would encounter would be comparable to what is found at The Sentinel.”

PM 2.5 levels could be a lot higher in other areas such as the “Miracle Mile” in Middlesex Township, a section of Route 11 between the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I-81, he pointed out.

“The Sentinel is very proud to be partnering with the Clean Air Board and Carlisle Regional Medical Center on this exciting new environmental project that will be the only one of its kind in our region and will provide very useful and beneficial information to our readers and online viewers,” said Mark Blum, publisher of The Sentinel.