MassDEP Program Cleans up School Bus Emissions at South Shore Regional

South Shore Regional Voc Tech Supt. Charles Homer, South Shore Regional Voc Tech Transportation Coordinator Missy Benoit-Parfumorse (center) and MassDEP staffer Susan Lyon (right) check out the diesel retrofits on the school's buses.

Victor Gomes, road technician for New England Detroit-Diesel Allison, performs the installation of a diesel oxidation catalyst on a bus at South Shore Regional Vocational Technical School.

South Shore is the second regional vocational technical school system to receive the retrofit equipment through a $120,000 grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Northeast Diesel Collaborative Emissions Reduction-School Bus Retrofit Program.

 "We appreciate the funding assistance provided by the EPA for this program," said MassDEP Commissioner Laurie Burt. "Under this program, the retrofits will remove a significant amount of pollutants, making it a healthier ride to school for hundreds of students and a cleaner environment in communities served by this school system."

South Shore's Transportation Coordinator Missy Benoit-Parfumorse said the school pursued the retrofits in order to bring its "legacy fleet" in line with its newer buses. She said that with the retrofits, "our oldest buses will be just as clean as our newer buses." School Superintendent Charles Homer called the retrofits a "win-win for everyone," saying that as a public institution he felt it was his responsibility to set an example with the buses.

Under the EPA-funded program, three of South Shore's buses received diesel flow-through filters (FTF) and crankcase ventilation (CCV) systems. FTFs, which function like catalytic converters in the engine exhaust system, reduce tailpipe emissions. CCVs, which are installed on the engine, eliminate blow-by gases from the engine into a bus's interior. Another three buses received diesel oxidation catalysts (DOCs) and CCVs. The last three buses received CCVs only because the buses were already equipped with the most up-to-date diesel emission control technologies.

Together the FTFs and CCVs reduce emissions of fine particulate matter (PM that is 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less) by 50 percent, hydrocarbons (HC) by 60 percent, and carbon monoxide (CO) by 60 percent. The DOC/CCV combination reduces PM by up to 20 percent.

PM has been implicated in the state's rising asthma rates and is considered a probable carcinogen. HC helps form ground-level smog and exposure to this pollutant is associated with increased hospital admissions for respiratory distress, such as bronchitis. Exposure to CO may cause headaches, nausea and death. 

New England Detroit Diesel-Allison (NEDDA), Inc. of Wakefield performed the installation at South Shore's Hanover campus. NEDDA, a national vendor of retrofit equipment, is one of seven vendors under state contract selected to install retrofits on buses across the Commonwealth. 

South Shore serves 600 students from Abington, Cohasset, Hanover, Hanson, Norwell, Rockland, Scituate, and Whitman. The nine buses transport students commuting from these areas, in some cases traveling as much as two and a half hours each way. All nine buses are also used to transport students on field trips and sports events and serve as the late bus for after-school transportation.

South Shore is the second vocational school system to complete the retrofits. Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical School in Charlton had retrofit devices installed on four of its buses in April. Whittier Regional Vocational Technical School in Haverhill is expected to receive its retrofits shortly.

The EPA-funded school bus retrofit program supports MassDEP's clean diesel strategy to reduce fine PM in Massachusetts - a strategy that includes state funding to retrofit all eligible Massachusetts school and transit buses, enforcement of the state's anti-idling regulation, contract requirements to retrofit off-road engines used in state-funded construction projects, and regulations requiring strict emission standards for a range of diesel vehicles.

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