Port of Long Beach clean
air programs slashed air pollution from port-related sources for the fifth year
in a row, including a dramatic 75 percent reduction in airborne diesel particulates,
according to an analysis of key pollutants comparing 2011 to 2005.
Over that six-year period,
all key air pollutants from port-related sources were reduced, according to the
study. In addition to the drop in diesel emissions, smog-forming nitrogen oxides
and sulfur oxides were cut 50 percent and 80 percent respectively from 2005 levels,
and greenhouse gases were lowered by 23 percent.
The use of lower-sulfur,
cleaner fuels by all waterfront equipment – but especially the oceangoing ships
– and the phasing out of the oldest drayage trucks were the primary contributors
to the air quality improvements.
On July 1, the port also
implemented its “Green Ship Incentive Program,” which offers cash incentives to
shipping lines for bringing the newest, cleanest cargo vessels to the Port of Long
Beach. The program is the latest in a long line of efforts to improve air quality
locally.
“With cleaner fuels, more
shore power and other programs, we’re on track to continue to further reduce air
pollution from the port,” Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners President Susan
E. Anderson Wise said.
Each year, the port compiles
an emissions inventory to calculate the amount of air pollution released from all
port-related sources and compares the data with the baseline year of 2005. The latest
report, which was released Aug. 6, is for the 2011 calendar year. The adjoining
Port of Los Angeles released its own report Aug. 2, which found that strong anti-air
pollution policies led to a decrease in cumulative harmful emissions at the port
by as much as 76 percent from 2005 to 2011.
The LA study also says that
container volumes increased six percent during that time period at the port. At
Long Beach however, containerized cargo activity fell by 10 percent during the same
timeframe.
Long Beach’s latest full
pollution inventory can be seen at www.polb.com/emissions.
