Diesel exhaust is a toxic air contaminant that causes lung cancer.
The only way to significantly reduce air pollution is to switch to cleaner technologies such as natural gas, electricity or fuel cells. While the lower emission technology is an improvement over existing diesel, even this new technology is far less clean than buses powered by natural gas. Natural gas buses, in contrast, do satisfy this important health-protective standard. The lower emission diesel bus technology has not been proven to sufficiently reduce the cancer risk associated with diesel. Children across California who ride these school buses will continue to face the health risks posed by diesel exhaust if more diesel buses are purchased through this allocation.