seaport asthma: Study Details Port Pollution Threat

[Guest guest]

Traffic related air pollution and incidence of childhood asthma: results

of the Vesta case-control study.

J Epidemiol Community Health. 2004 Jan;58(1):18-23.

Zmirou D et al.

Public Health Laboratory, School of Medicine, University,

France.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that traffic related pollutants might

have contributed to the asthma epidemic that has taken place during the

past decades among children.

Study Details Port Pollution Threat

Environmental groups' U.S. report, which ranks L.A. and Long Beach in

the middle, calls for stricter regulation.

By Deborah Schoch

LATimes Staff Writer

March 22, 2004

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ports22mar22,1,3468755.story

Booming global trade is taking a toll on the nation's major seaports as

container ships, trucks and port equipment produce massive amounts of

air and water pollutants that threaten residents' health, a study concludes.

A prime example is the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, now the

single largest fixed source of air pollution in Southern California,

emitting as much diesel exhaust as 16,000 tractor-trailers idling their

engines 24 hours a day, according to the study, being released today by

the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Coalition for Clean Air.

The report rates the environmental records of the 10 largest U.S.

seaports, giving the highest marks to the Port of Oakland and the lowest

to the Port of Houston.

Southern California's two major ports finished in the low-to-middle

range, with the Port of Long Beach edging out its chief competitor, the

neighboring Port of Los Angeles, with higher marks for environmental

compliance. Long Beach received a C grade and Los Angeles trailed with a

C-minus.

The report calls for stricter regulation of port pollution, raising

questions about how much ports, shipping companies, retailers and

consumers may have to pay to reduce air and water pollution.

Port-related pollution across the country has been largely ignored and

unregulated, it says.

" So few people are talking about this gigantic elephant in our living

room, " said Plenys, one of the study's principal authors and a

transportation policy analyst at the Coalition for Clean Air, a

not-for-profit California group. Port activity, he said, is " arguably

the most poorly regulated source of pollution in the United States. "

At some ports and shipping companies, officials countered that they

already were taking significant steps and making major investments to

reduce air emissions and curb water pollution.

" I know there are a lot of people out there trying, " said Geraldine

Knatz, managing director of development at the Port of Long Beach, which

got high marks in the report for its efforts to stem storm-water runoff.

Evergreen America Corp., a major shipping line, already is replacing old

equipment with modern models using low-emission technology, said

Executive Vice President Wesley Brunson, adding, " We want to go as

'green' as possible. "

Shipping company APL, which operates through Eagle Marine Service at Los

Angeles, Oakland and other ports, is considering whether to switch to

cleaner, low-sulfur diesel fuel, which is 6 to 10 cents more expensive

than lower-grade diesel fuel, spokesman Dailey said.

" Diesel emissions are a significant issue, and we want to be good

citizens and good neighbors, " Dailey said.

Air emissions are of particular concern at Los Angeles and Long Beach,

since the region's air problems are among the worst in the nation.

A 1999 study by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, for

instance, found that diesel exhaust was to blame for 71% of the cancer

risk from air pollution in the region, concentrated in areas around the

two ports and freeway corridors.

Ports also produce large amounts of nitrogen oxides and particulate

matter, both linked to human respiratory illnesses.

The latest study's authors, using a variety of reports, calculated that

the Port of Los Angeles produces 31.4 tons per day of nitrous oxide,

largely from ships, trucks and port equipment. By contrast, an average

U.S. refinery produces 0.8 ton daily; an average power plant, 4.6 tons;

and half a million cars, 23.9 tons.

The Los Angeles port produces 1.8 tons of particulate matter daily, in

contrast to 0.4 ton from a refinery, 0.6 ton from a power plant and 0.5

ton from half a million cars, the report determined.

Together, the two ports form the third-largest complex in the world,

behind Hong Kong and Singapore, serving as the point of entry for 33% of

the nation's seaborne cargo.

As Asian ocean trade has swelled, rapid port expansion in both Los

Angeles and Long Beach has antagonized residents of San Pedro,

Wilmington and Long Beach, where some neighborhoods flank terminals and

truck arteries. Their concerns have increased in the face of predictions

that cargo container volume could quadruple in the two ports in the next

15 to 20 years.

Such fears fostered a 2001 lawsuit against the port and city of Los

Angeles brought by local groups, the NRDC and the Coalition for Clean

Air. In a $60-million settlement, the port agreed to improvements

including installing equipment so that ships docking at the new China

Shipping terminal could plug into onshore electric power and turn off

their diesel engines. That and other changes haven't yet been implemented.

The study praises the Los Angeles port for ordering 585 " diesel

oxidation catalysts " that can be installed on tractors and other yard

equipment, making them operate more cleanly. But it chides the port for

not installing the catalysts more quickly. A port spokeswoman, Theresa

-, said Friday that only half the catalysts had been installed.

Los Angeles lags behind Long Beach in efforts to reduce storm-water

runoff of contaminants from vast expanses of terminals and container

storage areas. Such runoff — including oils, metals and pesticides —

ends up in the ocean and can taint beaches and other coastal areas,

analyst Plenys said.

The report urges Los Angeles to follow Long Beach's example and

coordinate port-wide anti-runoff efforts, rather than leaving that

responsibility to individual tenants as it does today.

Both ports are roundly criticized for poor community relations, and the

report suggests that Long Beach create a community port committee such

as the one operating in Los Angeles.

At the competing Port of Oakland, officials said Friday that they were

pleased to hear that the port received the highest marks in the study.

" We've improved air quality, reduced congestion and are completing a

beautiful waterfront park for public enjoyment, " Protopappas,

president of the Board of Port Commissioners, said in a statement.

" The NRDC ranking encourages us to continue to look for sustainability

opportunities as we develop for the future. "

The report's most severe criticisms are directed at the Port of Houston,

because of what it called " deplorable treatment of local residents and

its few noteworthy programs " to reduce air and water pollution.

The port's communications manager, Felicia , expressed concern

with the finding, saying that the port had taken extra steps to lessen

the effect of its proposed Bayport expansion.

" We're setting new standards for environmental stewardship and

environmental sensitivity, " said , who later declined to comment

further.

The Bayport project is currently stalled in the face of legal opposition

from four cities and a number of environmental groups, which allege that

the plans violate federal law.

*

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX)

Port grades

How the nation's 10 largest seaports rank in improving air and water

quality, reducing port sprawl and working with the community:

1. Los Angeles C-

2. Long Beach C

3. New York/New Jersey C+

4. ton, S.C. D+

5. Oakland B-

6. Hampton Roads, Va. C+

7. Seattle C+

8. Savannah, Ga. D+

9. Houston F

10. Miami C-

Source: " Harboring Pollution: The Dirty Truth About U.S. Ports, " by the

Natural Resources Defense Council and the Coalition for Clean Air

Los Angeles Times

Copyright 2004 Los Angeles Times

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