Health leaders received a comprehensive update on biodiesel and other renewable fuels through a renewable transportation fuel and air quality event held Sept. 8. The National Biodiesel Board (NBB) and the American Lung Associations of Washington, D.C., the Upper Midwest and the Southwest hosted the inaugural Air Quality Forum in Washington, D.C.

The unique, invitation-only event allowed health/environment leaders-including representatives of lung associations, faith-based groups and school health organizations-to have a scientific examination of air quality and the impact of alternative transportation fuels, like biodiesel. Because the top officials who attended were from across the nation, the knowledge gained from this conference was far-reaching.

The workshop's programs, case studies and panel discussions addressed: - The current knowledge of health effects of transportation pollution -The Clean Air Act as it relates to renewable transportation fuels - The contributions of renewable fuels to benefit air quality - A discussion of renewable fuels' production and distribution capacity - The business case for producers and consumers of renewable fuels - The latest in engine technology as it relates to renewable fuels - Policy across the nation

The event drew top-level professionals, such as Jonathan Samet of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; USDA Senior Economist Jim Duffield; U.S. DOE Clean Cities Program Acting Director Dennis Smith; NREL's Principal Engineer Robert McCormick; and Bill Wehrum, the U.S. EPA's top clean air administrator.