The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is helping finance the replacement or retrofitting of older school buses in public and private school fleets to reduce diesel emissions and improve air quality. Owners can install catalysts and ventilation systems to reduce emissions by up to 25 percent or replace older buses with newer ones that meet the latest highway emission standards. The EPA will pay up to $25,000 each, depending on the size.

“Our kids spend a lot of time on the school bus, and buses spend a lot of time in our neighborhoods and schoolyards. They are a national symbol of safety,” says Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the EPA Office of Air and Radiation. “Significantly improving school bus fleets across the country with retrofits, replacements and idle reduction practices is imperative in meeting the agency’s goal of reducing children’s exposure to air toxins.”

This article appears in the October 2016 issue of Natural Awakenings.