Brian Bilbray: “California's children are breathing unhealthful exhaust spewed by diesel school buses that are among the oldest and…”

“California's children are breathing unhealthful exhaust spewed by diesel school buses that are among the oldest and highest-polluting in the nation, according to a report to be released today by a Los Angeles environmental group. The report, by the Coalition for Clean Air, urges Gov. Gray Davis' administration to set tough emission standards for school buses and to provide tens of millions of dollars to help school districts replace their fleets with new buses powered by cleaner-burning alternative fuels. About 17,000 diesel buses deliver children to school, including some 20-year-old models that spew dark clouds of noxious smoke. Diesel exhaust, a mix of soot and toxic gases, has been linked in health studies to lung cancer, asthma attacks, allergies and other respiratory illnesses.”