By Floyd Vergara, Director of State Governmental Affairs, National Biodiesel Board
Special to The Digest
Since 2020, Americans have been hyper focused on their health and the air they breathe as a paralyzing pandemic swept across our country and many others. While the pandemic put us in a state of shut down, pushing us apart, it brought a lot of us to the same realization – our health and safety is critical. Now, many people from coast to coast are prioritizing cleaner, healthier air. In short, they want to feel protected while stepping outside of their homes.
As people look for lower-carbon fuel options to not only get safer air but provide a cleaner environment, the National Biodiesel Board is excited to spread the word about a readily available, drop-in solution: biodiesel. Throughout the past couple years, the National Biodiesel Board has touted that our industry is
The conversation around biodiesel is ever evolving. A new study demonstrates switching to biodiesel results in a number of significant health benefits such as decreased cancer risk, fewer premature deaths, and reduced asthma attacks.
The fuel research, conducted at 13 sites in the U.S. exposed to high rates of petroleum diesel pollution, used well-established EPA air dispersion modeling tools coupled with health risk assessments and benefit valuations to assess the public health benefits and resulting economic savings of converting from petroleum-based diesel to 100 percent biodiesel, known as B100.
Biodiesel is a readily available, low-carbon, renewable fuel made from a diverse mix of resources such as recycled cooking oil, soybean oil, and animal fats. U.S. manufacturers rely on U.S. soybean oil as the primary feedstock for biodiesel, and it was the first domestically produced and commercially available fuel to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s definition of an advance
(National Biodiesel Board) New study shows the low-carbon fuel would decrease premature deaths, reduce cancer risk and alleviate asthma complications for thousands of Americans A new study from Trinity Consultants demonstrates that switching to biodiesel results in a multitude of benefits at the neighborhood level, including significant health benefits such as decreased cancer risk, fewer premature deaths and reduced asthma attacks.
The study, sponsored by the National Biodiesel Board with support from the Nebraska Soybean Board, South Dakota Soybean Research & Promotion Council, California Advanced Biofuels Alliance, Iowa Soybean Board and the Wisconsin Soybean Marketing Board, used well established EPA air dispersion modeling tools coupled with health risk assessments and benefit valuations to assess the public health benefits and resulting economic savings of converting from petroleum-based diesel to 100% biodiesel, known as B100, in 13 sites and communities in the U.S.