We're #8 on the Asthma Capitals List There are some top ten lists you just don’t want to be on, the Top Asthma Capitals list is one of them. The Asthma Capitals is an annual research project to call attention to the asthma epidemic and to advocate for changes in each city to improve the quality of life for people with asthma. Scoring worse than average in over half of the indicators, Philadelphia came in as the eighth most challenging places to live with Asthma. Next Great City advocates the City to install modern pollution-control devices on older city diesel trucks to reduce asthma caused by soot. The City is making progress (a few years ago we were ranked as the third worst place in the country for asthma sufferers to live), but there is still a long way to go in improving air quality for Philadelphia residents. Expansion of Retrofitting Extends to School Buses & Other VehiclesAs of June 2009, the City has retrofitted all but one of the city’s 78 fire trucks and 119 waste haulers. They will begin retrofitting airport vehicles and non-road vehicles soon. The School District has retrofitted 70 buses and another 169 are underway, using federal grants and settlement funds.
Retrofiting Expands to Fire TrucksThe City announced a program funded jointly by the EPA and monies from a City settlement with Sunoco to retrofit 78 diesel fire trucks to significantly reduce soot, smog pollutants and carbon monoxide emissions. Sunco Settlement Funds Sweeper & Hauler RetrofitsThe $1.2 million allocated for diesel retrofits from a Sunoco settlement for air pollution violations is being used to refrofit street sweepers and haulers. The City is also leveraging the money to acquire matching funds- including $60,000 it received to retrofit fire trucks. The Next Great City coalition will continue to work on procurement language to ensure that new vehicles and equipment purchased by the City are already retrofitted. Recent News
Upcoming Events/Meetings The Philadelphia Diesel Difference meets on the third Monday of every month from 10-noon at the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission at 6th and Race streets. Related Links |