Evidence Regarding Health Dangers from
Diesel Emissions is Now Irrefutable

As Maritime Groups and Environmental Authorities Move
to Regulate, Technology Provides a Proven Solution to
One Major Emissions Battlefield: Ships at Port

Commercial ships, enroute and at port, release more sulphur dioxide particulate than all
of the world’s cars, trucks and buses combined, according to a study released in March by
the International Council on Clean Transportation, and quoted in a Wall Street Journal
article Nov. 27, 2007. The study further found that ships produced an estimated 27%
of the world’s nitrogen oxide emissions – a huge percentage by any standard.  

In November, 2007, a peer-reviewed study in the American Chemical Society’s journal,
Environmental Science and Technology estimated that under-regulated air pollution from
ships results in 60,000 deaths from lung cancer and cardiopulmonary disease each year,
primarily along trade routes in Asia and Europe. 

Particulate pollution from ships in international waters is, after many delays, being addressed
by the Marine Environmental Protection Committee, which represents 167 governments.  

Arguably, an even more acute risk, due to high pollutant concentrations, is ships at port,
where ship emissions are widely blamed for higher incidences of cancer and asthma. 
A 2006 report by the California Air Resources Board found that Long Beach and Los Angeles,
the nation’s two largest ports, were responsible for more than 20% of the Southern California’s
total diesel particulate pollution.  To further quantify the danger, scientists calculated that smog
from ships, cranes and trucks at the ports caused 29 premature deaths, 750 asthma attacks
and 6600 lost days of work in that year.

Similar actions are being taken in Washington, where Port of Seattle commissioners
committed in 2008 to substantially reduce the air pollution emitting from dockside ships and
cargo handling equipment. By 2010 the Port will reduce toxic soot by 70% for docked ships and
30% for equipment used to haul cargo. The ports of Tacoma and Vancouver have implemented
similar goals. An analysis of federal air-quality data published in the Seattle Times determined that
the neighborhoods closest to the Ports of Tacoma and Seattle have some of the unhealthiest air
in the state due to diesel pollution. Diesel soot is closely linked with both asthma and cancer.

The Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles have announced a sweeping plan to reduce harbor
emissions by 50% by 2011 by focusing on the ships and trucks that move cargo. Simultaneously,
the US EPA is developing new rules of its own for ship emissions.  Notably, one rule would
apply some of the same standards to marine engines as the agency now enforces for locomotives.  

One solution, which has proved effective for emissions from locomotives in rail yards,
is the CCS – (Cloud Chamber System) developed by Tri-Mer Corporation.

With the successful 2006 demonstration test of CCS technology at the Union Pacific Railroad’s
J.R. Davis Rail Yard in Roseville, California,  CCS is now regarded as the first technology to
demonstrate high removal efficiencies when operating at the flow volumes typical for large
diesel engines. For details of the test, including a link to the Placer County Air Pollution
Control District website and its official report,  Visit.

In addition to the health effects outlined above, it is estimated that exposure to
diesel PM causes about 250 excess cancer cases per year in California (CARB, 2000).
Over 30 human epidemiologic studies have investigated the potential carcinogenicity
of diesel exhaust. These studies, on average, found that long-term occupational
exposures to diesel exhaust were associated with a 40% increase in the relative
risk of lung cancer (SRP, 1998).

Other organizations have also evaluated the carcinogenicity of diesel exhaust.
For example, IARC* (1989) concluded that diesel engine exhaust is a probable human
carcinogen, and based on these IARC findings, the State of California, under the
Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (Proposition 65) identified
diesel exhaust as a chemical known to the State to cause cancer. The U.S. EPA (2002)
similarly concluded that diesel exhaust be considered a “probable” human carcinogen
by inhalation exposure.

Recent studies add to concerns about diesel's contribution to asthma.
Studies have shown that the proximity of a child's school or home to major
roads may be linked to asthma, and the severity of children's asthmatic symptoms
increases with proximity to truck traffic.” CARB website

The California Air Resources Board has determined that diesel particulates account
for 70% of the cancer risk from toxic air contaminants statewide. CARB website

*IARC – International Agency for Research on Cancer,
an extension of the World Health Organization.

To demonstrate the effectiveness of the CCS for your application,
Tri-Mer conducts an active Pilot Plant Program.

Have a potential application? Tell Us About It . . .
We Can Help You with Some Guidelines.

For more information contact:
Kevin Moss (801) 294-5422
kevin.moss@tri-mer.com

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