|
|
|
|
Stories from Rough and Tumble
High diesel pollution plagues W. Oakland
Diesel pollution hits
By Kristin Bender, STAFF WRITER
OAKLAND -- In their own homes, some West Oakland residents are breathing five times more truck diesel pollution than residents in other parts of the city, an environmental study released Saturday shows.
Eighteen-wheel semi-trucks carrying goods to and from the Port of Oakland spew an estimated 90 tons of diesel pollution per year -- more than twice the amount of pollution per person than in some other parts of Alameda County, according to the study, a West Oakland Environmental Indicators report by the Pacific Institute and other groups.
And with the planned multi-million dollar expansion of the Port of Oakland -- expected to double in size and in shipping operations by 2020 -- truck trips could reach 22,000 daily -- double current traffic, study officials said.
The study shows problems, but it also offers solutions and a rough road map to pulling officials and groups together to re- duce toxins and improve West Oakland's quality of life.
"We know there are solutions," said Oakland Vice Mayor Nancy Nadel (Downtown-West Oakland) "We can not tolerate people who might be facing five times more diesel soot in their homes. That is not the kind of environmental equality we want in our community." Nadel spoke at a community meeting where the study was released. Representatives from the trucking industry and EPA were also there.
Exposure to diesel soot is known to increase the risk of asthma, heart disease and premature death.
Ask Margaret Gordon. Her home at 7th and Willow streets was one of the homes tested during the limited indoor air monitoring study earlier this year.
Gordon, who said she, her son and four grandchildren suffer from asthma, has also contended with diesel soot on her walls, blinds and heating system, she said.
"You vacuum, you dust, you wipe, you just keep doing this dance, but it's still there," said Gordon, who has lived in her place for 11 years and said she can't afford to move.
"If I clean one morning, the next morning it's like I never cleaned," she said. "With the Port going to expand it's time to do something about this problem."
Bill Aboudi, the owner and operations manager of AB Trucking agrees.
"We were blacklisted as truckers for a long time," he said after the community meeting. "I've worked very hard at changing that."
"We are not against (residents and city agencies working for change). We are not trying to pollute, but all the services for truckers are in West Oakland," he said.
Trucks travel on residential streets in West Oakland to find mechanical services, weigh stations, fuel, food and overnight parking. The system is laid out in a way that givers truckers no other choice, Aboudi said.
But Aboudi said he made a step in the right direction two months ago when he and six other trucking companies moved operations to the former military police station at Maritime Street and Bataan Avenue inside the Port.
Oakland Maritime Support Services, as the operation is called, is a co-op of sorts, offering some necessary services to truckers. But there's a long way to go, he said.
Aboudi wants to get companies to invest in services for truckers such as food, repair services, tires, fuel, truck insurance -- but without support from the city and the Port, it's tough. "No one wants to invest if they don't know that they're going to be there for a while," he said.
The study itself took teamwork.
Over a period of three days, an aethalometer -- a device that measures the amount of black carbon in the air -- was used to detect average pollution levels in two West Oakland homes.
When the West Oakland levels were compared to one home near Lake Merritt they were determined to be five times greater. West Oakland residents also conducted a "truck count" on five neighborhood streets over three days in July and determined truck patterns.
In tandem with the studies, the groups found some potential solutions, including regulating truck idling within Port terminals, creating a designated truck route outside of neighborhoods, passing an ordinance prohibiting truck parking in overnight in neighborhoods and providing financial incentives to replace older, more polluting trucks.
The groups will work with the city, the Port and environmental groups to accomplish their goals.
The study is a good first step, but it will take time, money and commitment from the city, the Port of Oakland, regional environmental agencies to get the solutions off the ground, said Mike Bandrowski, who manages community-based air toxins efforts for the EPA.
"Funding is always going to be a big issue," he said. "And keeping all the stakeholders working together is also an issue. A lot of these solutions are long-term, so they aren't going to happen in a couple weeks."
Diesel exhaust poses health risks in West Oakland, study finds
Trucks blamed for area's air pollution
Henry K. Lee, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, November 16, 2003
------------------------------------------------------------------------
West Oakland residents are suffering from diesel exhaust spewed by nearby trucks at the Port of Oakland, increasing their risk of asthma, heart disease and cancer, according to a study by environmental and community groups released Saturday.
The indoor air in some West Oakland homes is five times more toxic than in other parts of the city, said the study that was issued by the Pacific Institute of Oakland and a number of community groups.
"I'm constantly doing this dance about cleaning the diesel soot from my blinds and window sills," said Margaret Gordon, 57, whose home near the corner of Seventh and Willow streets is just blocks from the city's port, the nation's fourth largest.
"We need to do something about reducing these emissions, because when it collects inside your house, it collects inside your lungs," said Gordon, whose apartment was equipped with a device that monitors the amount of black carbon in the air.
Meena Palaniappan, a senior research associate with the Pacific Institute,
said average diesel emissions in West Oakland are more than 90 times higher per square mile than the average for the rest of the state.
"The results we found are frightening," she said.
Oakland Vice Mayor Nancy Nadel, who represents West Oakland, said city officials should exercise their "political will" to help reduce diesel pollution in the area. "We know that there are solutions," she said.
The study offered a number of ways to reduce truck emissions, including stepping up measures against illegal truck traffic, moving truck-related businesses away from homes, installing electrical hookups to reduce the time trucks idle and setting up traffic barriers to force trucks to use major streets.
The Port of Oakland has set aside $9 million to reduce emissions, of which $1.5 million is specifically for decreasing truck emissions, said Jim McGrath, the port's manager of environmental planning.
"We want to work and be good neighbors," McGrath said. One proposal is for the port to help subsidize the purchase of newer, cleaner trucks, he said.
Bill Aboudi, operations manager for AB Trucking in West Oakland, said he supports the measures to clamp down on truck fumes. "I'm breathing the same air. Believe me, I want to knock down the pollution as much as they do," said Aboudi, who runs a 40-truck fleet.
E-mail Henry K. Lee at hlee@sfchronicle.com.
bravenet.com