Petroleum Diesel Engine Emissions: Air Quality and Public Health Impacts and the Biodiesel Alternative

1. Petroleum Diesel Engine Emissions: Air Quality and Public Health Impacts and the Biodiesel Alternative State Biodiesel Commission Meeting September 11, 2008 Melinda Treadwell, Ph.D. Keene State College School of Professional and Graduate Studies

2. Today’s Presentation---Answers to: • What are the benefits and challenges for Diesel Engines?? • What led to 2007/2014 Standards for Diesel Engines and Fuels? • What does Keene State College have to do with any of this? • What does Biodiesel have to do with any of this? • What are some future research needs?

3. The Science of Toxicology Paracelsus (1493 - 1541) “All substances are poisons, there is none which is not a poison. The right dose differentiates a poison and a remedy.” THE DOSE MAKES THE POISON

4. Health and Environmental Impacts and Decision Making

5. Petroleum Diesel---benefits Many desirable qualities: Efficient fuel, Effective fuel/technology, Available fuel, Current system established….economic impact with change* *In 2004 NH residents spent $710 million on diesel fuel and heating oil

6. Diesel Fuel (Challenges) • Increasing concerns regarding health and environmental impacts of diesel equipment • Asthma • Chronic bronchitis • Chronic obstructive airway disease • Cardio-pulmonary morbidity and mortality • Cancer… “likely to cause cancer in humans” • Ozone concentration increases • Increasing awareness of the emissions contribution to pollutants of concern from diesel engines • Over 25 years of basic and applied research to draw these conclusions

7. Diesel Fuel (Challenges) • Increasing concerns regarding health and environmental impacts of diesel equipment • Increasing awareness of the emissions contribution to pollutants of concern from diesel engines • Critical Events/Study • 1999: California study---MATES I and II—and regulation • 2000: USEPA finalizes Diesel Health Assessment Document • 2000 – current day: Non-road equipment exposure analyses at Keene State College, raising concern regarding potential impacts (occupational and environmental exposure standards) • 2000-2006: USEPA tightens engine and fuel standards for on-highway and non-road diesel engines and tightens the national ambient air quality standard for fine particulate matter

8. The Major Pollutants of Concern: • Fine particles (nanoparticles??) • 4 - 53% • Irritant gases • 40 – 90% • Cancer causing mixture? • >70% of cancer risk in the LA Basin • Major Environmental Concerns: • NOx • Volatile organic compounds

9. What are Fine Particles? A complex mixture of extremely small solid particles and drops of liquid in the air PM2.5 (2.5 µm) Hair cross section (~70 mm) PM4 (4µm) Human Hair (45 - 130 µm diameter) M. Lipsett, California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment

10. Fine particles, or haze, restrict our ability to see long distances Unadjusted Hourly conc. of fine particles – 4 g/m3 Hartford Oct. 8, 2002 4 p.m. EDT Unadjusted Hourly conc. of fine particles – 24 g/m3 Hartford Oct. 2, 2002 4 p.m. EDT

11. NIH-COBRE Award US EPA STAR Grant Bio Diesel Keene State College Safety Studies DepartmentResearch Activities evaluating diesel and biodiesel emissions NIH-COBRE Award #2 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 Today

12. Our Approach • Use established occupational and environmental monitoring /analysis methods • Monitor fine particulate matter exposure and ~45 gaseous pollutants • Monitor exposures at the perimeters of a worksite (environmental) • Monitor in-cabin exposures (occupational) • Track local meteorological conditions • Compare our monitoring results with allowable occupational and environmental health-protective standards

13. Environmental Air Monitoring Equipment

14. KSC Exposure Assessment for Petroleum Diesel in Non-Road Sector To quantify occupational and environmental exposures to diesel engine emissions If appropriate… To evaluate exposure reduction options for diesel powered equipment to provide occupational and environmental health improvement

15. Nonroad Exposure Project Conclusions Nonroad diesel equipment activity substantially increases* fine particulate matter exposures. *Average concentrations were 1-16X greater than normally recorded in each area.

16. Conclusions Non-road heavy-duty diesel equipment activity increased* diesel particulate matter exposures. *Other projects have concluded that, in an urban environment, diesel particulate “background” ranges between 0.4 – 1.5 mg/m3. These data demonstrate that nonroad equipment activities will increase these concentrations by 1 - 6 X.

17. Measured Average Fine Particulate Matter Concentration EPA requires a 24-hour fine particulate matter exposure of less than 35 mg/m3 Our Smuggler’s Notch 24-hour average was 243 mg/m3

18. Why not await the pending federal requirements for petroleum diesel? Fuel and new engine standards for highway and non-road diesel engines on the way…

19. Why not await the pending federal requirements? • Phase in for nonroad emission controls 2008 and 2014. • New fuels and engine technologies likely not in the field for years - decades to come. • Current challenges with ultra low sulfur diesel for on-road engines and engine technology delays (2007 standards) will be a problem… • After market emissions controls, cleaner fuels, or other emission reduction efforts focused on the current fleet or stationary engines will mean exposure reductions and environmental improvement immediately.

20. Recognizing the significance of these emissions and the potential delay for federal emissions control to take effect….what emission reduction options exist ? Alternative fuels---biodiesel??

22. Central Question for our research • Does B20 use result in lower emissions of: • PM2.5 • Elemental/Organic Carbon • Oxides of Nitrogen

23. City of Keene Recycling Center

24. Keene Recycling Center

25. Reduction in PM2.5 (~62%) was statistically significant (p=0.00001)

27. Average Elemental Carbon concentration reduction (~22%) statistically significant p=0.014

28. ~370% increase ---highly significant, p= 2E-11

29. Future Questions?? • If these reductions could be reproduced for more mobile engines and stationary engines the emission reductions could be very substantial • 51-78% exposure reduction in PM2.5 • 18-24% exposure reduction in elemental carbon • Will the NOx results be consistently observed? • Is there a potency reduction with biodiesel? • The question of organic carbon increase must be further investigated 370% increase--attributable to high potency compounds?

30. Monadnock Biodiesel Collaborative Production of Biodiesel (250,000 gallons/year) Exposure and Emissions Research and Education Fuel Quality Testing for Biodiesel

31. Acknowledgements Batchelder Biodiesel Refineries Lee Batchelder William Langille EPA P3 Grant 833-52301 Sources of Funding Heineman Foundation Janes Trust National Institute of Health P20RR018787 EPA Star Fellowship SP916576 City of Keene Mike Blastos Mikaela Engert Donna Hanscom Med KopczynskiGary LaFreniere Dale Pregent Steve RussellSteve Thornton Duncan Watson Marcia White J&S Environmental Services John DiVincenzo Keene State College Andrew Denley Joseph DiFraia Jim Draper Helen Giles-Gee Mike Grotton Mary Jensen Jay Kahn Chris Langille Andrew McKeen Mel Netzhammer Gary Oden Donna Paley Irissa Plouff Joshua Swasey Nora Traviss Bud Windsor