George Thurston links idling pollution to cardiovascular and respiratory harm

Good afternoon.

Yeah, George Thurston.

I work at the New York University School of Medicine.

I live outside the city, but I commute in and I walk from Grand Central to my office a little over a mile.

So I experience the kinds of pollution and probably more noticeable to me because I often carry a pollution monitor, which I recommend, a portable one.

And I actually...

And we'll let you go on a little bit, but what kind of device do you carry?

Just a portable particulate matter monitor.

Okay.

Anyway, and I'll present some of those data in my written.

And I study health effects of air pollution.

I published, you mentioned the PM2.5.

I published the very first paper relating PM2.5 to mortality in the United States in 1987.

The US EPA cited my research when they set the standard in 1997.

And I've done studies here in the United States, well, throughout the United States, but in New York City of children's, the backpack study, that was mine.

I've done a number of studies in New York showing the continuing effects of this on not just from this particular problem, but from diesel, especially particles in this city.

And so we need to take vigorous action.

So I commend the committee for taking this on.

And enforcing these idling rules.

However, I also am concerned about the exemptions.

such as for regeneration clean cycles, and could be potential loopholes and should be avoided.

That's in 561A.

I've done a lot of work with power plants, and they get exemptions something like this, where it says, well, if they change operations, they're allowed to emit for a short period of time.

And you wouldn't believe how many times they call on that.

It's just, and the emissions of, the annual emissions go way up because they just do it, and they just mark it down.

We just did this.

So I think it's really human nature being what it is.

It doesn't sound like you can find out whether it really was happening or not.

Please continue because I held you up for a couple of moments with your other thing.

So just in conclusion, I think that we need to be more proactive in enforcement.

You know, and you mentioned hiring some new people, maybe more of that.

And I also think looking at solutions, not just these kind of extreme events, you know, of idling, but it's a general problem.

We're bathed in pollution from traffic every day.

We walk around.

And if you compare where I live out in Westchester, when I come into work, that's where I get all my exposure to pollution every day.

So we need to do things like giving incentives for EV trucks, heavy-duty trucks, and to drive that switchover off diesels.

We need to get them.

Professor, I'm going to have to, you know, step in because I'll– I'm going to have to step in and, you know, enforce the time limit.

Okay.

That's all I have to say.