NO AREA SCHOOL BUSES AFFECTED BY RECALL ORDER

School superintendents and contract school bus operators in the area said Thursday a voluntary recall of some Navistar International school buses should not affect them at this time.

But a spokesman for Navistar International headquarters in Chicago said it was possible the recall may be expanded to include additional buses that are in use in this area.

Navistar said Wednesday it is voluntarily recalling at least 24,000 International school bus chassis to correct a fuel tank defect that could lead to leaking in a crash.

Linda Spulak, Navistar International's manager of customer relations, said Thursday notices of the recall will be mailed in August to owners of Navistar International school bus chassis equipped with 35-gallon fuel tanks that were manufactured after Sept. 1, 1978.

Spulak said the fuel tank modification will take about one hour, and can be done by school district or bus company mechanics.

The fuel tank defect caused excessive fuel leakage in a June 23 laboratory crash test conducted by the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Navistar said in a statement released Wednesday.

At the NHTSA's request, an International school bus chassis with a 35-gallon fuel tank was subjected to a crash test involving a two-ton barrier. Leakage from the tank exceed a federal standard. Navistar was notified the following day and began an investigation.

The company emphasized the recall is a precautionary move, and there have been no reports of incidents, injuries or accidents related to the fuel tank defect. They also said school buses affected by the recall could continue to be driven until the fuel tank modification is completed.

Navistar International school bus chassis equipped with 65-gallon fuel tanks are not included in the latest recall notice. But Spulak said tests are now under way on their school bus chassis with 65-gallon fuel tanks to determine if the tank and its protective metal cage should also be modified.

"At this time we can't say if the bus chassis with 65-gallon fuel tanks will be included in the recall. We'll know more after the tests are concluded early next week. We should have an answer by the middle of next week," she said.

If the recall is expanded to include bus chassis with 65-gallon fuel tanks, the company said the number of buses affected could go as high as 185,000, and cost between $1 million to $20 million.

Of the area school districts and contract bus operators contacted Thursday, four said they operate Navistar International school buses; however, most are chassis models with 65-gallon fuel tanks. One school official said very few school buses in the area are equipped with 35-gallon fuel tanks because of the distances the buses must travel each day.

George Hatthorn, manager of Ryder Student Transportation of Cape Girardeau, said there are six Navistar International school buses in the Cape Girardeau fleet, but all are equipped with 65-gallon fuel tanks. Ryder provides contract student bus transportation service for the Cape Girardeau, Shawnee, Egyptian, Cobden and Mounds-Meridian school districts.

Jean Kurre, bus transportation coordinator for the Jackson School District, said the district has two 1991 model Navistar International school buses equipped with special-order 60-gallon tanks.

Meyer Bus Co. in Perryville operates a fleet of Navistar International school buses for contract student transportation in the Perryville and Ste. Genevieve public school districts. All have 65-gallon fuel tanks, said Lou Meyer, a spokesman for the company. Meyer said nine of the International school buses are based in Perryville and 12 in Ste. Genevieve.

Ed Jackson, Southern Illinois operations manager for Mayflower Bus Co. at Marion, Ill., said his company has a fleet of 11 Navistar International school buses at Cairo, where they transport Cairo public school students under contract with the school district. All of the Cairo-based school buses are equipped with 65-gallon fuel tanks, Jackson said.

Jackson said Mayflower has two school buses with the 35-gallon tanks that are affected by the recall, but both are based in Williamson County, where the company has contracts with several Illinois school districts.

Navistar said most of the affected school buses operate on diesel fuel, which is less volatile than gasoline, but fire from leaking fuel is still the major concern in case of an accident.

Jackson said all large school bus chassis manufactured after 1990 are now diesel-powered. The only exception are the smaller school bus bodies mounted on gasoline-powered van truck chassis.

Some school districts said they in the process of converting their older, gasoline-powered school bus fleets to diesel power for safety reasons and lower operational and maintenance costs.