LA Port Reports 2005-2008 Air Emissions Down

Monday, November 9, 2009

LA Port Reports 2005-2008 Air Emissions Down

The Port of Los Angeles said that total air pollution emissions from port operations were down 16 percent in 2008 compared to 2007, and down 23 percent compared to 2005.

The data was part of the port's latest annual air inventory report– covering the year 2008– that was released last week.

The report, available on the port's website, said that diesel particulate matter– often seen as tailpipe or smokestack soot– dropped 12 percent in 2008 compared to the previous year. Diesel particulate matter, according to the port, also fell 31 percent between 2005 and 2008.

The port, along with the neighboring Port of Long Beach, which issues its own air inventory reports, first began issuing annual reports in 2005. Subsequent studies use the 2005 report as a baseline of comparison.

The LA report also said that oxides of nitrogen, or NOx, a smog-forming emission, also fell in 2008 by 18 percent compared to 2007. NOx declined in 2008 by 20 percent compared to the 2005 numbers.

Emissions of oxides of sulfur, or SOx, another smog-forming component, increased in 2008 by 5 percent compared to 2007 but was down 32 percent compared to the baseline year of 2005.

All told, the Port of Los Angeles-generated emissions accounted for about 7 percent of the total Southern California air basin pollution in 2008, a 2 percent drop from 2007 according to the port figures.

It is worth noting that from 2007 to 2008, cargo volume through the port fell by 7 percent while increasing 5 percent from 2005 to 2008.