American Lung Association Applauds EPA for Protecting American Health from Global Shipping Pollution
03.30.09
Statement of Captain Charles D. Connor, U.S. Navy (Ret.), American Lung Association President and CEO:
The American Lung Association applauds the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for charting a course today to protect millions of people from the dangerous pollution from ocean-going vessels. EPA’s application for an Emissions Control Area means that foreign-flagged ships within American waters will soon be required to greatly reduce the pollution they produce, pollution that jeopardizes the health and the lives of people living thousands of miles inland. We call on the International Maritime Organization to promptly act on this application so that the work to clean up these emissions can get underway.
In my career as a U.S. Navy Captain, I saw firsthand the staggering amounts of pollution that cruise ships, container ships, tankers and other ocean-going vessels released into the atmosphere. These ships dock at over 100 ports along our coastline and along navigable waterways far inland. Their smog-and soot-forming emissions threaten the health of those living far from our nation’s maritime ports. By comparison, the U.S. Navy tries to comply with the United States’ emission standards during normal operation.
Air pollution sends people with lung disease to the hospital, shapes how children’s lungs develop, causes heart attacks and can even kill. Fighting for healthy air remains the highest priority of the American Lung Association.
Before today’s action, ocean-going vessels were on the fast track to become the leading source of air pollution in the United States, harming health, worsening global warming and creating acid rain.
Children, seniors, those with lung disease, cardiovascular disease and diabetes will benefit most of all because they face the greatest risk from these dangerous pollutants. The American Lung Association looks forward to the cleaner air that will come because of the journey that begins with today’s action.
The American Lung Association, Environmental Defense Fund, the National Association of Clean Air Agencies and the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency have today released a report discussing the importance of establishing an Emissions Control Agency in U.S. waters, Protecting American Health from Global Shipping Pollution. This report is available on http://www.LungUSA.org.
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CONTACT:
Heather Grzelka
202-715-3450
