Harboring Pollution: Strategies to Clean up U.S. Ports

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Harboring Pollution: Strategies to Clean up U.S. Ports HARBORING POLLUTION HARBORING POLLUTION Strategies to Strategies to Clean Up U.S. Ports Clean Up U.S. Ports August 2004 Authors Diane Bailey Thomas Plenys Gina M. Solomon, M.D., M.P.H. Todd R. Campbell, M.E.M., M.P.P. Gail Ruderman Feuer Julie Masters Bella Tonkonogy Natural Resources Defense Council August 2004 Harboring Pollution ABOUT NRDC The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit environmental organization with more than 1 million members and online activists. Since 1970, our lawyers, scientists, and other environmental specialists have worked to protect the world’s natural resources, public health, and the environment. NRDC has offices HARBORING in New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and San Francisco. Visit us on the POLLUTION World Wide Web at www.nrdc.org or contact us at 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011, 212-727-2700. Strategies to Clean Up U.S. Ports ABOUT THE COALITION FOR CLEAN AIR The Coalition for Clean Air is a nonprofit organization dedicated to restoring clean August 2004 healthful air to California by advocating responsible public health policy, providing technical and educational expertise, and promoting broad-based community involve- ment. The Coalition for Clean Air has offices in Los Angeles and Sacramento, CA. For more information about the coalition’s work, visit www.coalitionforcleanair.org or contact us at 523 West 6th Street, 10th Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90014, 213-630-1192. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The Natural Resources Defense Council would like to acknowledge The William C. Bannerman Foundation, David Bohnett Foundation, Entertainment Industry Foundation, Environment Now, Richard & Rhoda Goldman Fund, and The Rose Foundation For Communities & The Environment for their generous support. The Coalition for Clean Air would like to acknowledge Environment Now and Entertainment Industry Foundation for their generous support. The authors also would like to thank the following people for their contribution to this report: David Beckman, Erika Brekke, Tim Carmichael, Erica Chan, Mark Gold, Vern Hall, Rich Kassel, Jon Leonard, Teri Shore, Mitzy Taggart, and Kate Wing. NRDC Reports Manager NRDC President CCA President Alexandra Kennaugh John Adams Tim Carmichael Editor NRDC Executive Director CCA Vice President Matthew Freeman Frances Beinecke Janine Hamner Production NRDC Director of CCA Outreach and Bonnie Greenfield Communications Communications Manager Alan Metrick Nidia Bautista Copyright 2004 by the Natural Resources Defense Council. For additional copies of this report, send $7.50 plus $3.95 shipping and handling to NRDC Reports Department, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011. California res- idents must add 7.5% sales tax. Please make checks payable to NRDC in U.S. dollars. ii CONTENTS Abbreviations iv Executive Summary vi Chapter 1: Health and Environmental Effects of Port Pollution 1 HARBORING Chapter 2: Improving Port Environmental Management Practices 17 POLLUTION Chapter 3: Improving Laws and Regulations Governing Ports 65 Strategies to Clean Up U.S. Ports Endnotes 78 August 2004 Appendices The appendices are available only on NRDC’s website at http://www.nrdc.org/air/pollution/ports/contents.asp and at the Coalition for Clean Air website at http://www.coalitionforcleanair.org/portreports. Appendix A: Port Land-Use Efficiency Methodology Appendix B: Additional Technical Information for Mitigation Measures Appendix C: Model Aquatic Resources Protection Program for Shipping Ports Appendix D: International Rules and Treaties The Dirty Truth About U.S. Ports Environmental report cards for ports in 10 U.S. cities, issued by NRDC and the Coalition for Clean Air in March 2004, are also available online at http://www.nrdc.org/air/pollution/ports/contents.asp and http://www.coalitionforcleanair.org/portreports. iii ABBREVIATIONS AAPA American Association of Port Authorities AFS antifouling system AMP Alternative Maritime Power BACT best achievable control technology BFO bunker fuel oil HARBORING BMP best management practice POLLUTION CARB California Air Resources Board CNG compressed natural gas Strategies to CO carbon monoxide Clean Up U.S. Ports CO2 carbon dioxide DOC diesel oxidation catalyst August 2004 DNA deoxyribonucleic acid (genetic material) DPF diesel particulate filter EEZ exclusive economic zone EGR exhaust gas recirculation EMS environmental management system EPA (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency EU European Union FTF flow through filter HFO heavy fuel oil HP horsepower IMO International Maritime Organization ISO International Organization for Standardization LNC lean NOx catalyst LNG liquefied natural gas LPG liquefied petroleum gas (propane) LSD low-sulfur diesel MDO marine diesel oil MECA Manufacturers of Emission Controls Association MGO marine gas oil MOU memorandum of understanding MSRC Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review Committee MTO marine terminal operator NDZ no discharge zone NG natural gas NO2 nitrogen dioxide NOx nitrogen oxides NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NPDES National Pollution Discharge Elimination System PAHs polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons PCBs polychlorinated biphenyls PM particulate matter PM10 particulate matter less than or equal to 10 microns in size RTGrubber-tired gantry crane iv Strategies to Clean Up U.S. Ports SCAQMD South Coast Air Quality Management District SCR selective catalytic reduction SECAT Sacramento Emergency Clean Air Transportation (program) SO2 sulfur dioxide SOx sulfur oxides SWPPP Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan TBT tributyltin TERP Texas Emission Reduction Program TMDL total maximum daily load VOCs volatile organic compounds (similar to hydrocarbons and reactive organic gases, as some regulatory agencies commonly use) g/bhp-hr grams per brake horsepower-hour (a measure of the amount of a pollutant per engine energy output) g/kWh grams per kilowatt hour (a measure of the amount of a pollutant per unit energy output) lb/MW-hr pound per megawatt hour (a measure of the amount of a pollutant per unit energy output) ppm parts per million tpd tons per day v EXECUTIVE SUMMARY arine ports in the United States are major hubs of economic activity and major Msources of pollution. Enormous ships with engines running on the dirtiest fuel available, thousands of diesel truck visits per day, mile-long diesel locomotives hauling cargo and other polluting equipment, and activities at marine ports cause an array of environmental impacts that can seriously affect local communities and the HARBORING environment. These impacts range from increased risk of illness, such as respiratory POLLUTION disease or cancer, to increases in regional smog, degradation of water quality, and the blight of local communities and public lands. Strategies to Most major ports in the United States are undergoing expansions to accommodate Clean Up U.S. Ports even greater cargo volumes. The growth of international trade has resulted in corresponding rapid growth in the amount of goods being shipped by sea. Despite August 2004 the enormous growth within the marine shipping sector, most pollution prevention efforts at the local, state, and federal level have focused on other pollution sources, while the environmental impacts of ports have grown. Marine ports are now among the most poorly regulated sources of pollution in the United States. The result is that most U.S. ports are heavy polluters, releasing largely unchecked quantities of health-endangering air and water pollution, causing noise and light pollution that disrupts nearby communities, and harming marine habitats. In March 2004, NRDC and CCA issued report cards for the 10 largest U.S. ports on their efforts to control pollution—or lack of efforts to control pollution. In the short time since the grades were issued, steps to reduce port pollution have already been made. For example, the first container ship in the world plugged into shoreside power at the Port of Los Angeles. This report discusses solutions to port pollution problems and provides additional information on the health and environmental impacts of port operations; an overview of policies governing U.S. marine ports; and detailed analysis and technical recommendations to port operators, regulatory agencies, and community-based environmental and health advocates. AIR POLLUTION AND HEALTH IMPACTS FROM PORT OPERATIONS The diesel engines at ports, which power ships, trucks, trains, and cargo-handling equipment, create vast amounts of air pollution that affect the health of workers and people living in nearby communities and contribute significantly to regional air pollution. More than 30 human epidemiological studies have found that diesel exhaust increases cancer risks, and a 2000 California study found that diesel exhaust is responsible for 70 percent of the cancer risk from air pollution.1 More recent studies have linked diesel exhaust with asthma.2 Major air pollutants from diesel engines at ports that can affect human health include particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and sulfur oxides (SOx). The health effects of pollution from ports may include asthma, other respiratory diseases, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, and premature death. In children, these pollutants have been linked with asthma and bronchitis, and high levels of the pol- lutants have been associated with increases in school absenteeism and emergency room visits. In fact, numerous studies have shown that children living near busy vi Strategies to Clean Up U.S. Ports diesel
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