School Bus Co. Sued Over Toxic Exhaust

A California environmental group has sued the nation's largest school bus operator, claiming that it failed to meet the state's standards for toxic air emissions and disclosure, and that it falsified emissions tests. Environmental Law Foundation filed court papers yesterday alleging that Laidlaw workers were ordered to make buses appear cleaner than they are. Recent years have seen a flurry of research into the effects of diesel exhaust from school buses. The particulates and toxins have been shown to accumulate inside buses, and the pollution has been linked to asthma and other ailments in school children. The research has led many states, school districts and other jurisdictions to upgrade buses with better pollution controls and cleaner fuels, according to a May 16 story in The San Francisco Chronicle.