Council Gets Tough on Diesel Trucks

In an effort to reduce air pollution from diesel exhaust, the City Council voted Friday to require all city trash trucks hauling refuse to Sunshine Canyon Landfill to use low-sulfur fuels.

The action follows complaints about diesel emissions by area residents who oppose the expansion of the Sunshine Canyon landfill into Granada Hills.

“We have to get rid of diesel-powered vehicles because they are so heavily carcinogenic,” said City Councilman Mike Feuer, who presented the motion. “We are taking all the steps we can to protect public health.”

To do so, the council ordered the city Bureau of Sanitation to retrofit all sanitation trucks that go to the Sunshine Canyon Landfill and to city transfer stations in north central and South-Central Los Angeles with particulate traps to reduce soot.

The council also directed sanitation officials to assign the first clean-fuel trucks purchased by the city to routes that bring waste to Sunshine Canyon.

Between 200 and 300 truck trips per day now bring city waste to the county-operated portion of the landfill, city officials said. If the landfill is expanded, the city estimates the number of truck trips per day could double.

Last month, the South Coast Air Quality Management District mandated that refuse collection vehicles be powered by alternative fuel or certified dual-fuel engines to reduce toxic pollutants caused by diesel emissions. At that time, the City Council adopted new citywide clean-fuel regulations that call for the gradual replacement of all 650 city owned and operated trash trucks, as well as transit buses and other fleet vehicles.

A recent South Coast Air Quality Management District study found diesel to be the cause of nearly 70% of the cancer risk from air toxics in Los Angeles. Soot and gases expelled by diesel engines have been linked to lung cancer, asthma and other diseases.