EPA releases report on emissions reduction measures in nation’s ports

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a report detailing strategies and technologies that ports throughout the country, including a full range of port types and sizes, can utilize to reduce air pollution.
 
The report, titled “The National Port Strategy Assessment: Reducing Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases at U.S. Ports,” specifically looks at emissions trends from diesel engines in operation at ports and how those emissions can be reduced. Measures suggested in the report include replacing and refurbishing older vehicles to use cleaner engines, as well as the deployment of zero emissions technologies.
 
For example, replacing old drayage trucks with newer models, using cleaner diesel engines, can reduce NOx emissions by up to 48 percent and particulate matter emissions by 62 percent, while replacing those trucks with hybrid electric vehicle would result in even larger reductions.
 
“This report shows that there are many opportunities to reduce harmful pollution at ports that we know will work,” EPA Office of Transportation and Air Quality Director Christopher Grundler said. “This is great news for the roughly 39 million Americans who live and breathe near these centers of commerce.”
 
The report supports the EPA’s Ports Initiative, which seeks to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.