Diane Bailey, Senior Scientist, San Francisco

Diesel truck idling persists at the Port of Oakland posing a health hazard to workers and the surrounding community.  With California’s strict idling limits long in place and a positive recent enforcement report from the state Air Resources Board, you would think that truck idling is no longer a problem.  Yet Webcam views at the port reveal repeated long lines at one port terminal, leaving drivers to wait for hours exposed to the fumes and contributing to hazy conditions for everyone.

Margaret Gordon, Co-Chair of the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project, always has her ear to the ground on issues impacting her West Oakland community – including residents and truckers.  She brought this problem to our attention several weeks ago.  At that time the truck lines at the port looked endless, leading to significant idling emissions (The image to the right show trucks outside the Port of Oakland SSA terminal on July 26th, 2012).  In addition to the environmental impacts, truck drivers serving the port are having a hard time turning around loads to make a decent living, with the excessive wait times to get inside the terminals.   These are drivers ...

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