BETHLEHEM, Pa. — There are 69,000 children across Pennsylvania who attend schools or play in parks near a major roadway, exposing them to harmful emissions, according to a new report.
“Diesel trucks make up a small fraction of vehicles on the road, but they're responsible for a majority of traffic-related air pollution, including fine particulate matter, like PM 2.5, and nitrogen oxide, which ultimately causes smog,” said Janet Conklin, a research fellow with Generation180, a nonprofit focused on clean energy.
“Children are particularly vulnerable because they breathe more air per unit of body weight, spend more time outside, and their lungs and immune systems are still developing.”
The Clean Trucks PA Coalition this month released “Clearing the Air: Protecting Pennsylvania’s Children from Diesel Pollution.”
The almost 50-page report identified more than 600 schools, childcare centers, playgrounds and parks near major roadways and trucking corridors across the state.
Of the 639 sites identified across the commonwealth, more than two dozen were in the Lehigh Valley, including 23 in Allentown, and five each in Bethlehem and Easton.
At the sites, researchers argue, children face both acute and chronic exposure to dangerous ambient concentrations of diesel pollution.
Child care centers, parks, private schools
For the study, researchers plotted parks and schools within 500 meters, about 1/3 of a mile, of selected interstate highways in Pennsylvania using publicly available data from the National Center for Education Statistics, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services and GIS mapping.
That distance is key, they argue, because traffic-related air pollutants are most concentrated closest to the source, and remain elevated up to 500 meters away.
In the Valley, sites included child care centers, parks and private schools near Interstate 78.
One of the main arteries through the region, it’s seen increased traffic over the past several years due to the region's prolific trucking and warehousing industries.
In August 2023, officials in Lehigh and Northampton counties launched Lehigh Valley Breathes, aimed at monitoring air quality amid increased emissions. Officials expect results in the next year.
During a recent webinar about the report, Conklin shared a chart to illustrate how nearness to roadways with heavy traffic correlates to asthma.
“You can see clearly children in closer proximity to a roadway are experiencing more asthma symptom days compared to their peers who live and attend school further away, with impacts peaking at 100 meters, so unbelievably close to a roadway, and then dissipating as we move further away,” she said.
But impacts stretch farther than the respiratory system, she said.
“We're also seeing cognitive delays, immune suppression and long term cardiovascular risks associated with diesel pollution in children."Janet Conklin, a research fellow with Generation180
“We're also seeing cognitive delays, immune suppression and longterm cardiovascular risks associated with diesel pollution in children,” Conklin said.
“Studies prove that children living and learning within 500 meters of a major roadway have lower test scores, more communication and developmental delays, predisposition to diabetes and chronic heart conditions, and, lastly, weaker immune systems that both increase the risk of respiratory infections and other illnesses, as well as impact children's ability to fight off illness and infection.”
‘Helping young lungs’
In addition to identifying the issue, the report also outlines solutions, specifically replacing diesel trucks and buses with electric.
“The Pennsylvania Clean Trucks Coalition, along with the policy section of the report, outlines the steps that Pennsylvania can take to get more zero emissions vehicles on its roads,” Sarah Bucic, policy analyst, Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments, said.
“Local jurisdictions, state agencies, the legislature, as well as Gov. Shapiro, can all take action in helping young lungs by clearing up the air from diesel pollution. Zero emissions trucks, vans and buses are good for the air, the climate and our economy.”
Bethlehem School District was lauded in the report for its electric school buses.
Last year, the district purchased two electric school buses through a $1 million state grant. That October, district officials announced they bought 10 more, using a $2 million in federal rebates.
“This makes them the first district in the Lehigh Valley to put electric school buses on the road, and by doing so, they are improving the health and experience of the children attending those schools,” Conklin said.
“So there’s a lot that folks can be doing, especially at the school level, to protect students and children from these adverse health impacts.”
The first two buses were on the road for the second semester this school year and have been working great, Mark Stein, the district’s chief of facilities and operations, said.
The district is working with Highland Electric Fleets to use a $2 million grant from EPA's Clean School Bus program to lease 10 electric buses for 12 years, Stein said. They're expected to arrive between August and September and be put into service upon arrival for the new school year.
"Once all here, the electric vehicles will represent about 10% of our transportation fleet," Stein said. "That doesn't seem like a lot, but that translates to about 130,000 miles worth of diesel emissions eliminated from our community.
" ... We look forward to providing our BASD students and staff a healthier and quieter ride to and from school as well as helping reduce harmful diesel emissions in our community for years to come," he said.
In addition, schools could deploy real-time air quality monitoring systems, upgrade air filtration systems or use portable air purifiers. Other strategies include establishing and enforcing no-idling zones, traffic management and rerouting, as well as installing green buffers and barrier landscaping.
Read the full report below:
