Public Health and the Ports

Asthma rates among children living in neighbourhoods within the vicinity of the ports – 15 percent of all children under 17 – are double the national average, while dock workers and truck drivers face significantly elevated risks of lung and oropharyngeal (throat) cancer, according to US Census figures and local studies. The Ports account for more than 20 percent of the toxic air emissions in the South Coast Air Basin – and more smog and particulate-forming nitrogen oxide emissions than all 6 million cars in the region, according the South Coast Air Quality Management District. Studies by the South Coast Air Quality Management District and the California Air Resources Board put the economic impact of premature deaths due to port pollution alone to reach $5.9 billion by 2025. An economic impact study commissioned by the San Pedro Bay ports indicates that replacing the present truck fleet and accomplishing the other measures outlined in the Clean Air Action Plan will create 300,000 to 600,000 jobs over the next two decades. Together, the neighbouring ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach – which handle 44 percent of all container goods entering America – are the world’s fi fth busiest port complex by container volume and are expected to see container volumes triple by 2020.