U.S. Tightens Diesel Pollution Standard

Federal regulators imposed a tougher anti-pollution standard for buses, trucks and other diesel vehicles and proposed tighter standards for off-road diesel equipment, such as bulldozers and forklifts. The changes would reduce air pollution by 2.7 million tons a year, equivalent to taking 6 million heavy trucks off the road, the Environmental Protection Agency said. Nitrogen oxides from diesel engines are a major contributor to smog and soot, the EPA said. The proposed standards for off-road equipment would be phased in from 1999 to 2008.