Emissions fall at Port of Long Beach

   The Port of Long Beach has reduced the amount of diesel particulates released into the air by 81 percent over the past seven years, according to the Southern California port’s 2012 emissions inventory.
   Also in 2012, sulfur oxides were cut by 88 percent, nitrogen oxides fell by 54 percent, and greenhouse gases were reduced by 24 percent compared to 2005 levels.
   Last year marked the sixth consecutive year of reduced diesel particulates, and port officials point to more efficient, cleaner and bigger ships, as well as the Clean Trucks Program, as primary drivers of its success. A new low-sulfur rule for ships and the increasing use of shore power also played a role in the reductions. During 2012, the port saw a 10-percent fall in containerized cargo activity, but the emissions reduction far surpassed that decline.
   “We’ve been aggressively pursuing cleaner air for a long time and as you can see from these numbers, we are succeeding. We’ve committed to do even more, to continue to reduce air pollution and its health effects,” Thomas Fields, president of the Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners, said in a statement. – Jon Ross