A new study from the American Chemical Society has linked ship emissions to thousands of deaths globally and is increasing pressure on ports to alter their environmental policies.
The study, posted last week on the ACS’s Environmental Science & Technology Web site, found that ships emit an estimated 1.2 million to 1.6 million metric tons of particulate matter annually. The bulk of those emissions, 70 percent, occur within 250 miles of land, the report said. This particulate load already is a significant contributing factor in the deaths of 60,000 people annually. As global trade levels rise, the toll is expected to increase as much as 40 percent, or about 84,000, annually by 2012. The study cited heart disease and lung cancer as the two most common causes of death among those living near coastal areas.
The issue of ship emissions has been gaining momentum on an international scale. However, the report said efforts to reduce emissions are being made without a full understanding of the problem and are fragmented in their approach.
“Emissions from international ships are increasingly a focus for proposed regulation in local, national and international arenas,” according to the study. However, previous studies have focused primarily on coastal areas in Europe and the western U.S. The lack of a full global picture on the impact of emissions could hinder the development of an effective international policy, the report said.
Days after the study was released, the American Association of Port Authorities said it planned to set tougher standards for foreign and domestic ships. The association is recommending that new engines make a 15 percent reduction in emissions of nitrogen oxides while phasing in 20 percent reductions on so-called legacy engines, those built before January 2000. However, the group is asking that the standards not be imposed until 2011.
“Considering that emissions from ocean-going ships are predicted to grow by more than 70 percent over the next 15 years with the expansion of global trade, our members believe it is imperative to take a strong stand on this issue,” Susan Monteverde, vice president of government relations, said in a statement.
Meredith Martino, manager of government relations and environmental policy for the association, said it advocates treaty standards set by the International Maritime Organization. A section of the treaty relates specifically to ship emissions and has yet to be ratified by the U.S.
Related Articles
You May Also Like
“We would just like to see the treaty implemented as quickly as possible,” Martino said.
The issue is one of scale. The huge size of cargo ship engines makes it more difficult to retrofit or replace them. They’ve also been designed to have a long lifetime.
“When you’re talking about vessels it’s not as easy, there’s not as many options,” Martino said. “They have an even longer life span [than trucks]. The expense of putting in a retrofit is even greater.”
Beyond air quality, the association is seeking national standards for ballast water management and ways to prevent “aquatic invasive species,” or the introduction of non-native marine life into domestic waters. Martino pointed to the Zebra mussel as one such example. The mussel is widely believed to have been introduced into the Great Lakes through foreign ships and the mussels caused considerable environmental damage.
“The maritime industry is fully aware of its responsibility to mitigate the environmental impact of global trade,” said Mike Zampa, a spokesman for ocean carrier APL.
APL has launched initiatives to lower its impact. In December 2006, the company said 23 of its ships docked at California ports would convert to burning low-sulfur fuel in port. In March it said the same would be done for APL vessels at the Port of Seattle.
Zampa said the industry is also taking another look at cold-ironing, which is when a ship shuts its diesel-powered generators in port in favor of connecting to an onshore electrical supply. APL said technological advancements make cold-ironing more feasible than it has been in years past. APL began testing a cold-ironing process in June, estimating that the process would eliminate 1,000 pounds of nitrogen oxides, 70 pounds of sulfur oxides and 15 pounds of particulate matter in just 24 hours. The process would also be much cheaper than anticipated. The cost for retrofitting vessels for cold-ironing is estimated at $225,000, which APL said is drastically less than industry projections of $1.5 million.
APL’s most recent suggestion to curb its impact is perhaps its simplest — bigger boxes. The company is introducing the first 53-foot shipping containers. Twenty- and 40-foot containers are generally regarded as industry standards. The 53-foot container has been a standard feature in the U.S. but has not been used for international ocean carrying. The boxes have 60 percent more capacity than 40-foot containers, and two 53-foot containers carry the equivalent of three 40-foot containers. Fewer containers translates into fewer moves having to be made and, hopefully, less energy used in the process.