Diesel Ship Emissions Lawsuit Filed

Since the Environmental Protection Agency has not acted on its promise to regulate diesel ship emissions, the San Francisco-based Friends of the Earth have filed a lawsuit against them.

Due to the EPA's negligence, harbor communities like Long Beach, Los Angeles, Houston and New York/New Jersey suffer from high rates of respiratory illnesses, and from the risk of having cancer, says Sarah Burt of Earthjustice, an organization providing legal support in the case.

In April, the EPA postponed "a decision on the adoption of tougher standards for ships calling at American seaports" demonstrating that the public's health is not their top priority (Hanson 2007). In fact, under the revised 1990 Clean Air Act, the EPA was "required to set cargo vessel emissions rules by 1992." (Hanson 2007). If the lawsuit goes well for Friends of the Earth, then the EPA will have "to set new ship emission and fuel standards within 60 days." (Hanson 2007).

Ships that arrive at seaports on a daily basis, "burn a form of diesel known as ‘bunker fuel,' a heavy oil that contains sulfur content as high as 27,000 parts-per-million." (Hanson 2007). By law, cars and trucks in the U.S. "can only use diesel fuel with a sulfur content no higher than 15 parts-per-million." (Hanson 2007). According to the South Coast Air Quality Management District, instead of air the people of nearby communities are breathing in "more than 30 tons of toxic sulfur oxides" every day, which is "more than all the cars, trucks, airplanes, power plants and oil refineries in the Los Angeles Basin combined." (Hanson 2007).

Fortunately, Senator Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., is fighting for a federal law that would require ships to discontinue the use of "high-sulfur fuels in and near U.S. ports." (Hanson 2007).

Summarized by: Stephanie Sandoval
Source: Hanson, Kristopher 2007. Lawsuit filed over port air pollution. Long Beach Press- Telegram, 2A. http://www.newsbank.org/ (accessed September 10, 2007).