The Texas Railroad Commission is spending an extra USD1 million to help employers retrofit old forklifts to newer, cleaner-burning equipment.

The San Antonio Business Journal reported the Texas Clean Air Forklift initiative enabled forklift operators to replace older propane, gasoline, compressed natural gas and diesel forklifts with 2004-compliant propane forklifts (Forkliftaction.com News #204).

Texas Railroad Commissioner Michael L Williams said:
"It's been a great pleasure to hand out cheques to forklift owners for doing the right thing for our environment."

According to the business journal, between 70 per cent and 80 per cent of the 45,000 propane forklifts in Texas operate in counties with poor air quality.