What's New
Each summer excessive pollution and warm weather combine each summer to trigger ozone and particle pollution warnings across Rhode Island.
This year, the Rhode Island General Assembly can take action to protect public health and reduce air pollution from dirty diesel engines. Legislation has been filed by Sen. Paul Moura and Rep. Peter Ginaitt that would require dirty diesel engines to be retrofitted with modern pollution control devices.
Environment Rhode Island is advocating for a 75 percent reduction in diesel pollution by 2015. More.
How You Can Help
Urge the Department of Environmental Management to support a diesel cleanup plan that will reduce diesel pollution in Rhode Island 75 percent by 2015.
Brief Summary
Diesel pollution threatens public health and makes Rhode Islanders sick. Every year, diesel soot causes:
• 50 premature deaths;
• 80 non-fatal heart attacks;
• 900 asthma attacks; and
• 5,500 missed days of work
The entire state of Rhode Island fails to meet federal air quality standards, and asthma and other respiratory ailments are becoming an epidemic across the state. Diesel pollution is a big part of Rhode Island’s air pollution problem.
Diesel exhaust contains very fine soot particles and air toxins, and is released at the ground level—just where we breathe it in. These tiny particles are inhaled deep in human lungs, where they can trigger asthma and heart attacks and cause lung cancer.
Sources of diesel pollution are often concentrated in urban areas, so people who live and work in cities are exposed to more of it.
School buses, trucks, construction and industrial equipment, locomotives and marine vessels are all sources of diesel pollution.
More.
