NATIONAL COALITION OF SCHOOL BUS SAFETY NEWS 2007

Doctor's Group Says Utah Air Poses Health Risk
April 3, 2007

A newly formed group of prominent doctors say that Utah is in the middle of a public health catastrophe thanks to the poor quality of air across the state.

Doctors with Utah Physicians for Healthy Environment say strokes, and heart attacks increase on particularly bad air quality days.

The group is made up of doctors and researchers including Dr. Brian Moench, MD, Dr. Richard Kanner, Dr. Maunsel Pearce, Dr. Gerald H. Ross, and Dr. Shelly Ring. Most at risk, according to the physicians group, are the very young and the very old.

The doctors have a list of suggestions including:

1)Implementing a moratorium on building new coal-fired power plants in our state and retrofit existing plants with state of the art technologies.

2) Reduce the speed limits along the Wasatch Front on bad air days.

3) Plan for major expansion of mass transit service throughout the Wasatch Front. Make it free to the public.

4) Reduce Utahs air pollutants by 20 % through numerous strategies such as assessing auto taxes based on a car's MPG.

5) Provide for more monitoring and studies of environmental health conditions, such as umbilical cord blood testing for chemicals and toxins.

6) Significantly increase public strategies to improve public awareness regarding impacts from air pollution, such as a public high school course on public health consequences of environmental pollution and live air quality data signs along I-15.

7) Air pollution warning indices should be expanded to include pregnant women.

8) School bus fleets should not idle in school yards while waiting for students. The engine should be shut off, to decrease children's exposure to diesel exhaust.

9) Encourage school districts to use school buses that run on alternative fuels.

The new group has only been in existence for a couple of months but since they went public with their concerns they say they've been inundated with volunteers. Over the weekend the group made a presentation to Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. He did not make any promises, but he did agree there is a public health concern in our state.

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