With 10 Years Of “Clean Trucks Program,” Los Angeles & Long Beach Ports Report Cleaner Air

With 10 Years Of “Clean Trucks Program,” Los Angeles & Long Beach Ports Report Cleaner Air

Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, together have the second busiest port region in the US. Both harbors are next to cement factories and petroleum refineries. Trucks coming in and out of the harbor on the always congested 710 highway belch and spew dirty diesel particulates in the neighboring community. In fact, kindergartens and schools conveniently located next to the highway are the hardest hit. Child asthma has skyrocketed over the decades, to the point where these children will never have fully developed lungs.

But things have gotten better and keep on getting better in a measurable way. Ten years later after the Clean Trucks Program was started, it has yielded some good results, with more to come.

The ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles enacted the Clean Trucks Program late in 2008, banning pre-2007 big trucks from the San Pedro Bay port complex. The result has been a phenomenal 97% reduction in toxic diesel particulate matter emissions from trucks, according to the most recent air quality reports from the harbor press releases.

The port didn’t just force the region to modernize private trucks — it did the same for its own trucking fleet, which led to a 79% decline in smog-forming nitrogen oxides, 91% fewer sulfur oxides, and 24% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The port plan also reaches emissions from ships, locomotives, container yard equipment, and harbor craft like tugboats.

The lesson here is if you resolve to take action you will see results, if you don't take action you won't see any improvement! Most people suffering from asthma and similar ailments have no idea what has actually contributed to it. Without the link to the cause it is doubful whether many cities will take action to address the root causes.

See https://cleantechnica.com/2018/10/24/with-10-years-of-clean-trucks-program-los-angeles-long-beach-port-reports-cleaner-air/

#airpollution #diesel

With 10 Years Of "Clean Trucks Program," Los Angeles & Long Beach Ports Report Cleaner Air | CleanTechnica
Los Angeles and Long Beach, California, together have the second busiest port in the US. Both harbors are next to cement factories and petroleum refineries. Trucks coming in and out of the harbor on the always congested 710 highway belch and spew dirty diesel particulates in the neighboring community. In fact, kindergartens and schools conveniently located next to the highway are the hardest hit. Child asthma has skyrocketed over the decades, to ...


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