December 18, 2020 (BOSTON, MA) – All-Star Transportation’s buses have been unlawfully idling in communities across Connecticut and flooding neighborhoods with harmful air pollution. Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has notified the company of its intent to sue for these violations.
“Children deserve to play outdoors and ride the bus without being poisoned by toxic vehicle exhaust,” said Heather Govern, Director of CLF’s Clean Air and Water program. “All-Star has repeatedly violated an important anti-idling law that is designed to protect the public and our right to clean air. It’s time this company is held accountable.”
All-Star serves 35 towns and cities in Connecticut. CLF investigators observed the company’s buses idling for extended periods, in violation of federal and state law, on numerous occasions. The violations occurred in bus lots in New Milford, Brookfield, and Seymour.
Idling vehicles release harmful exhaust filled with fine particulate matter and toxins. As the vehicles idle, these pollutants accumulate in the surrounding air. When inhaled, this pollution can cause lung damage, aggravate conditions like asthma and bronchitis, and has been linked to decreased cognitive ability, increased incidence of heart disease, multiple kinds of cancer, and premature death. Children are particularly susceptible to these harms.
In addition, recent studies have found that particulate air pollution can facilitate the spread of COVID-19 infection, as the virus can travel further through the air and deeper into the lungs while “hitchhiking” on airborne particulates. Particulate air pollution can also make people more susceptible to COVID-19 infection and its most severe symptoms by causing or contributing to lung inflammation and chronic lung diseases.
You can find the notice letter to All-Star here.
This is the latest lawsuit in CLF’s anti-idling campaign. Previous cases against several transportation companies in Connecticut and Massachusetts were filed in 2020 and 2019.
CLF experts are available for further comment.
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