Caterpillar Inc has won a contract to supply the Boston (MA) Public School District with technology to reduce diesel particulate emissions on school buses by more than 90%.
School buses with the Caterpillar technology were reviewed in Milford MA recently by officials from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA's New England regional office, and Caterpillar group president Richard L Thompson.
The contract with Boston Public Schools calls for Southworth-Milton, an independent Caterpillar dealer serving the Boston area, to install Caterpillar retrofit technology that substantially reduces emissions and improves efficiency of school buses. The engines met EPA regulations when they were manufactured, but improvements in retrofit technology can now reduce emissions levels even further.
The Caterpillar technology includes diesel particulate filters installed on Caterpillar engines already powering the school buses. The filters, which require the use of ultra-low sulfur fuel, remove fine particulate matter from the exhaust. The low-emission technology is installed at Caterpillar dealers, and the school buses are soon back in service.
Caterpillar says it has reduced on-highway diesel emissions in trucks and buses by nearly 90% since 1988 and will reduce those emissions another 90% by 2007.