The Diesel Health Project issued a new report this week that uses air pollution and weather data from the Argentine Village Green monitoring station and other sources to confirm that two sections of the BNSF rail yard are the likely source of frequent buildups of diesel exhaust air pollution in the Argentine neighborhood. These two sections are the neck of the classification yard, where old switch engines are used, and the Locomotive Maintenance Inspection Terminal (pictured below) which is used for load testing large numbers of locomotives.

This study, conducted by Craig Volland, Air Quality Chair of the Kansas Sierra Club, was a follow-up to our 2015 study which  found dangerous levels of elemental carbon, a marker for diesel exhaust,  in several locations near  the BNSF Locomotive Repair Facility, where locomotives are load tested (photo above), and identified the likely source as locomotives being tested at the facility.

The carbon particles in diesel exhaust are dangerous because they are typically coated with 30 or more toxins, and when inhaled, the smaller particles enter our bodies, along with their toxins.

Diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen, is known to cause many other diseases (see graphic below) and has been linked to many others.

A full copy of the report can be viewed below or downloaded here.  For more information, including the database used for the analysis, please email info@mokanair.org.