Study: Diesel Emissions Raise Cancer, Lung Disease Risk Near Port of Oakland
Source: San Francisco Chronicle, March 20, 2008
An analysis by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has found that diesel emissions from trucks, machinery and other sources elevate the risk of premature death and numerous other health problems for more than 3 million people living in West Oakland. CARB analysts found that residents had an elevated risk of cancer - nearly 1,200 additional cancers per million people - due to long-term exposure to diesel particulate matter. Other health problems stemming from such pollution included: 18 potential premature deaths, 290 asthma attacks, 2,600 days of work lost and 15,000 "minor restricted activity episodes" annually.
Diesel pollution has long been known to pose a health risk, especially to susceptible individuals like children, seniors and those with existing health conditions. According to the study, the largest sources of these risks came from diesel trucks traveling on the roads and freeways from the Port of Oakland (approximately 70 percent), port operations (15 percent), and the Union Pacific Railroad yard (5 percent).
"We have extensive data on the disproportionate burden of disease in West Oakland," said Dr. Anthony Iton, director of the Alameda County Public Health Department. "We hope that this health risk assessment will be helpful in quantifying the responsibility of the port to the adverse health outcomes in West Oakland."
The report comes as commissioners of the Port of Oakland consider an ambitious plan intended to reduce diesel emissions in West Oakland by 85 percent over the next 12 years. The plan calls for using $520 million from new shipping “container fees” and existing state bonds to help replace or retrofit approximately 1,900 older polluting diesel trucks and to rebuild the rail crossings at the heart of the port.
However a number of companies and trade associations have urged the commissioners to move cautiously, arguing the proposals impose an unfair burden on those moving goods by container, which would raise costs, limit competition and hamper operating capacity, while only having a limited impact on environmental quality.
To read more, please visit: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/03/20/BA1PVMN0O.DTL or http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2008/03/18/BU3VVLDPB.DTL
Media Contact: Dave Low
(408) 998-5865, david@lungsrus.org