EDF Joins EPA in Announcement of Historic U.S. Action to Protect Americans from Deadly...

EDF Joins EPA in Announcement of Historic U.S. Action to Protect Americans
from Deadly Global Shipping Pollution

Fuel from Sea-Going Vessels Is Major Source of Air Pollution at 100+ U.S. Port
Cities, New EDF Report Shows

PORT NEWARK, N.J., March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Environmental Defense
Fund (EDF) applauds the historic request by the U.S. government to protect
millions of Americans from deadly global shipping pollution generated by large
ocean-going ships. During a noon news conference today at Port Newark, New
Jersey, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson
announced that the U.S. government applied to designate U.S. coastal waters as
"Emission Control Areas" under international law.

An Emission Control Area, or ECA, would provide the strongest clean air
standards available under international law. It would dramatically improve
fuel quality and reduce smog-forming oxides of nitrogen for all ocean-going
ships in the exclusive economic zone of the United States, an area that
typically extends about 200 nautical miles from the coast. In 2002,
ocean-going ships were responsible for about 7,300 tons of smog-forming oxides
of nitrogen (NOx) pollution at the NewYork/New Jersey ports, comparable to the
NOx emissions from 7.8 million of today's cars.

"Ships are floating smokestacks that deliver soot and smog straight to the
heart of our most crowded coastal cities, home to 87 million Americans," said
Andy Darrell, vice president of Living Cities at EDF, who attended today's
announcement. "With emissions control areas, these tens of millions of
Americans will see ship pollution drop by as much as 96 percent by 2015."

Earlier today, EDF released a new report showing that the container ships,
tankers and other large sea-going vessels that dock at more than 100 U.S. port
cities burn low grade "residual fuel" or "bunker fuel" that is a major source
of air pollution. More than 87 million Americans live in ports and coastal
communities that fail to meet basic federal health standards for ground-level
ozone and particulate pollution, according to EDF's report, "Protecting
American Health from Global Shipping Pollution: Establishing An Emission
Control Area in U.S. Waters" (The full report is at:
www.edf.org/article.cfm?contentID=8611.) The residual fuel contains sulfur
levels 1,800 times greater than U.S. law allows for other diesel engines.

A recent study by two leading researchers on shipping pollution, Corbett and
Winebrake, shows shipping-related particulate matter emissions contribute to
approximately 60,000 global deaths annually, with impacts concentrated in
coastal regions on major trade routes.

The United States submitted its application -- asking for the most rigorous
clean air standards authorized under international law to apply to ocean-going
ships calling on U.S. ports -- to the International Maritime Organization
(IMO) and will make its case at the July 2009 meeting of the IMO's Marine
Environment Protection Committee. Government officials estimate that
foreign-flagged vessels make up 90 percent of the ship calls on U.S. ports.

In October 2008, the IMO adopted new baseline global emission standards for
ocean-going ships and their fuel with more rigorous, heightened protections in
designated Emission Control Areas (ECAs). The fuel used to power these ships
currently contains about 27,000 parts per million (ppm) of sulfur. In an ECA,
the sulfur in fuel will be limited to 10,000 ppm in August 2012 and to 1,000
ppm in January 2015.

Most ship engines that are designed to run on bunker fuel also are capable of
burning this cleaner fuel, so no significant ship changes or upgrades will be
necessary. Additionally, the EPA has affirmed that the lower sulfur fuel
required by an ECA will be available when the U.S. ECA goes into effect.

Within an ECA, ships must also achieve an 80 percent reduction in smog-forming
oxides of nitrogen starting in 2016. EPA air quality analyses shows the
pollution reductions required in an ECA will reduce exposure to lethal
particulate pollution for millions of Americans.

"We urge the International Maritime Organization to promptly approve the
United States' request and protect Americans from deadly air pollution,"
concluded Darrell.

Ocean-going ships contribute to unhealthy air quality across the United
States. According to EPA, in 2001, these large ships emitted approximately:

-- 745,000 tons of smog-forming oxides of nitrogen (NOx), a precursor to
ground-level ozone. Ozone can aggravate asthma and decrease lung
function in addition to other health effects;
-- 450,000 tons of sulfur dioxide (SO2), a key contributor to acid rain
that can also be transformed into lethal particulate matter; and
-- 54,000 tons of fine particulates (PM2.5), microscopic sized particles,
which can be breathed deep into the lungs, bypassing the body's
defense systems. They are implicated in thousands of premature deaths
each year. Other harmful health effects also result from breathing
fine
particulates.

Ocean-going ships are responsible for about 3 percent of the world's total
greenhouse gas pollution, according to EDF's report.

Environmental Defense Fund, a leading national nonprofit organization,
represents more than 500,000 members. Since 1967, Environmental Defense Fund
has linked science, economics, law and innovative private-sector partnerships
to create breakthrough solutions to the most serious environmental problems.
For more information, visit http://www.edf.org/.

Contact:
Sean Crowley, Marketing-Communications Director, EDF, 202-572-3331,
scrowley@edf.org
Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel, EDF, 720-837-6239, vpatton@edf.org
Andy Darrell, Vice President of Living Cities Program and New York Regional
Director, EDF, 917-912-3605, adarrell@edf.org

SOURCE Environmental Defense Fund

Sean Crowley, Marketing-Communications Director, +1-202-572-3331,
scrowley@edf.org, Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel, +1-720-837-6239,
vpatton@edf.org, or Andy Darrell, Vice President of Living Cities Program and
New York Regional Director, +1-917-912-3605, adarrell@edf.org, all of EDF