Comment Log Display

December 05, 2008


Chairwoman Mary Nichols and Members of the Board
California Air Resources Board
1001 I Street
Sacramento, CA 95812

RE:	Proposed Statewide Truck and Bus Regulation
	
Dear Chairwoman Nichols and  Board Members:

I am writing to urge you to adopt the Diesel Truck Rule.

My name is Maria de los Angeles Trejo, and I have lived in
Pacoima, CA for three years. I am in favor of the “Diesel Truck
Rule.” 

I have a daughter who is 11 years old who was diagnosed with
asthma in late 2007, a baby who is 1 ½ years old who was diagnosed
with asthma in March of this year, and I too, at 34 years old was
recently diagnosed with asthma in June of this year.  I would also
like to share that in February of this year, I had an abortion at 6
months in my pregnancy. My doctors could not provide me with an
explanation; they only told me that these cases are more common
than I had thought.  

I am a parent volunteer at an environmental organization and have
learned about the health problems which diesel contamination may
cause. At night, I fall asleep worried and feeling impotent because
respiratory illnesses do not receive the attention due to them. I
have seen one of my daughters on the brink of death, and have lived
through the agony of not being able to breathe. I live in front of
a commercial center and have seen diesel trucks at all hours
throughout the day, including dawn and they are stationed for over
half an hour with the engine running. Only a street separates my
home from the center. 

As a resident of Pacoima, I believe I have the right to live a
healthier life. I know it will not be easy, however, I cannot
stress enough the importance of reinforcing these types of rules
that will in the long term provide economic benefits for the state,
considering that less asthma inhalers will be handed out and there
will be less people filling the emergency rooms. 

I appreciate your attention to this matter and would like to let
you know that I am willing at anytime to present the dates wherein
my family was diagnosed with asthma.  

Attentively, 
MARIA DE LOS ANGELES TREJO