U.S. EPA has issued report to examine current and future emissions from a variety of diesel sources operating in port areas, and to explore the potential of a range of available strategies to reduce emissions from port-related trucks, locomotives, cargo handling equipment, harbor craft, and ocean-going vessels.
Ports are a vital part of the United States economy, with seaports, Great Lakes ports, and inland river ports serving as gateways for moving freight and passengers across the country and around the world. Seaports alone account for more than 23 million jobs and seaport cargo activity accounts for 26% of the United States economy.
As US adapts to meet these emerging economic and infrastructure demands, it is critical to understand the potential impacts on air pollution, greenhouse gases (GHGs), and the people living, working, and recreating near ports.
Diesel engines are the modern-day workhorse of the American economy, and although they can be reliable and efficient, older diesel engines can emit significant amounts of air pollution, including fine particulate matter (PM2.5), nitrogen oxides (NOx), air toxics, and carbon dioxide (CO2), which impact human health and the planet. The entire nation benefits from economic activity from the trade that passes through commercial ports located around the country. And while those emissions can reach significantly inland, it is the people who live, work, and recreate near ports that experience the most direct impacts on their health and welfare.
EPA estimates that about 39 million people in the United States currently live in close proximity to ports; these people can be exposed to air pollution from diesel engines at ports and be at risk of developing asthma, heart disease, and other health problems.
Port-related diesel-powered vehicles, equipment, and ships also produce significant GHG emissions that contribute to climate change. Even though EPA has adopted stringent emission standards for diesel engines, many ports and related freight corridors and facilities are located in nonattainment or maintenance areas for EPA’s ozone and PM2.5 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS)
This assessment supports the vision of EPA’s Ports Initiative to reduce air pollution and GHGs through a collaboration of industry, government, and communities. EPA already supports voluntary efforts to reduce diesel emissions through EPA’s Clean Diesel Campaign and its SmartWay program. State and local governments, ports and port operators, Tribes, communities, and other stakeholders can use this assessment as a tool to inform their priorities and decisions for port areas and achieve more emission reductions across the United States. Economic growth can go hand-in-hand with continued improvements in the health and welfare of near-port communities and the safeguarding of our planet.
EPA developed this assessment in consultation with the Mobile Sources Technical Review Subcommittee (MSTRS) of the Clean Air Act Advisory Committee (CAAAC) over a two-year period.
Further details may be found by reading the report below
An Executive Summary of the report may be found by clicking here
Source: US EPA
