Port Logjam Contributing to Dismal L.A. Air Quality

Operations at the massive port complex that comprises the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach, which have been experiencing delays as ships wait offshore to unload containers, are creating hazardous air quality for surrounding neighborhoods and the entire region, reports Alissa Walker.

These problems have existed since long before the current logjam brought the ports into national attention. "The neighborhoods around San Pedro Bay have become something of a sacrificial zone for U.S. commerce. The pollution from port operations is like having 6 million more cars driving around every day, and it’s estimated to cause 1,300 premature deaths in Los Angeles and Long Beach each year." As Walker notes, "Regulators noted an uptick in certain pollutants during a November with no measurable precipitation, reporting that emissions are up 75 percent compared to the same period in 2019, but they hesitate to declare a direct link between the smog and the port." 

Yet when President Biden announced the ports would begin 24-hour operations to increase throughput, no public input was considered, according to an organizer with activist group East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice. "All the attention currently being showered on the supply chain is showing how quickly decisions can be made to favor what [environmental attorney Adriano] Martinez calls the freight-industrial complex at a cost to residents, who have been told to wait decades for basic reforms."