Reduce port emissions to improveair quality and health, save money

A recent editorial in these pages repeated the myth that port operations "account for about 1 percent of fine particulate emissions in the Charleston area."

Here are the facts: Port operations released 175 tons of fine particulate soot in 2005, compared to 246 tons attributed to Charleston County's permitted industrial smokestacks. So particulate pollution released by port operations is equivalent to 70 percent of Charleston's permitted industrial emissions.

And as will come as no surprise to anyone who has spent time near an 18-wheeler or a large ship, most of this pollution is released near downtown Charleston, in our most densely populated area, where it has the greatest impact on human health.

Medical studies have shown again and again that people living near ports and truck routes have significantly increased risks for serious illnesses. Diesel "soot," or fine particle pollution, is associated with heart attack, stroke, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and premature death.

Research shows that port communities pay tens of millions dollars every year for health impacts due to port pollution. In Charleston, a study by a leading research firm concluded that the cost of port pollution could be up to $81 million per year.

Harmful air pollution and related traffic will greatly increase if a new terminal is built at the former Navy Base and served only by trucks, rather than with near-dock rail, which other ports are building. Your editorial recognized the recent and planned port equipment upgrades in Charleston to reduce emissions. We recommended many of those very measures years ago and commend the port community for implementing them.

At the same time, your readers need to understand that the measures highlighted will decrease fine particle emissions from port operations by just 2.68 percent. Progress is welcome, but other ports are doing much more.

The nation's largest ports are reducing emissions by almost 50 percent overall. They are increasing the use of rail to move cargo, which takes trucks off of clogged highways and greatly decreases diesel pollution. Trains are cleaner than trucks, burning up to six times less diesel to move the same ton of freight. It/s time for community leaders to coalesce behind a plan to boost freight rail in Charleston. The League, which has long advocated rail, remains committed to making that happen.

The Port of Los Angeles reduced emissions by 80 percent from its port trucks in just a few years. Charleston has just started on efforts to help truckers install filters, something the League has recommended in the past and still supports. Some ports have banned the oldest, most highly polluting rigs and provide incentives for the use of newer, cleaner (and safer) trucks. Charleston should adopt goals and incentives to significantly reduce truck emissions. Building a truck-only terminal at the Navy Base is out of step with the competition and would make our air pollution problems worse, not better.

Is cleaning up our air worth it? In human terms, absolutely. EPA representatives who recently visited Charleston said that reducing particulate matter from diesel engines in trucks and ships saves human lives. And that saves money. For every dollar spent cleaning up port pollution, EPA says $35 in health and environmental costs are saved. A thirty five to one benefit ratio is a huge bang for the buck.

To get these benefits we need to set emission reduction goals and create a systematic plan to improve air quality and public health in Charleston. Recent steps in that direction are welcome. But we look forward to a day when the port of Charleston is recognized as an environmental leader with significant advantages over places like Savannah, which proposes an environmentally devastating and costly (for taxpayers) Savannah River deepening to support its operations. In the future, top-flight shipping companies like Maersk will want to associate with ports that are not just efficient, but that are well managed environmentally. Joining the leading environmental ranks will make Charleston healthier and wealthier.

To learn more about practices currently being adopted by other ports around the country to protect the health of residents, please join us Saturday at the Royal Missionary Baptist Church in North Charleston from 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Medical experts and community leaders from Southern California, where the nation's largest ports are located, are hosting a conference to share information on environmental health impacts, and practices for reducing port pollution.

Register to attend at info@sickcityblues.com or 732-8035, extension 1000.

Nancy Vinson is the program director for Water, Air, and Public Health at the Coastal Conservation League.