January 2011 is when some newly manufactured diesel-powered equipment will have to meet new, tighter standards for emissions. Diesel emissions are a major contributor to airport pollution.
EPA’s standards are intended to address long-standing scientific concerns that diesel emissions can lead to or exacerbate serious health conditions, such as asthma, allergies, heart and lung diseases. Diesel exhaust is particularly harmful to the most vulnerable — the young and the elderly.
My concern is that GSE maintainers may need to develop new repair procedures, as well as new methods for rebuilding these engines. This all comes at a time of extremely constrained resources. New equipment requires new inventory for new parts, new training for GSE personnel and potentially new methods of operation. New government rules bring new headaches.
As onerous as compliance can be, ground support workers will be the most direct beneficiaries of cleaner air. They are the ones who work closest to the sources of these emissions and the ones whose health can be most affected.
Courtesy of San Antonio International Airport
Airlines
When the Little Things Matter
Jan. 20, 2022
Enter Engineering
