A Synthesis of Port Emission:Current Status and Future Directions

Mobile source port emissions are generated by marine vessels and by land based sources at ports. Marine emissions come primarily from diesel engines operating on oceangoing vessels (OGVs), tugs and tows, dredges, and other vessels operating within a port area. Land-based emission sources include cargo handling equipment (CHE) such as terminal tractors, cranes, container handlers, and forklifts, as well as heavy duty trucks and locomotives operating within a port area. These land-based sources also are likely to have diesel engines.

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The purpose of this study was to characterize the VSP distribution of trucks in port of Houston area in order to give recommendations on how to mitigate pollution. The port of Houston handles about 70 percent of the containerized cargo in US Gulf of Mexico. There are 8 main terminals, six of which are general cargo and two are container terminals named Barbours cut and Bayport. The Bayport terminal was selected for the study as it is the most modern and environmentally sensitive container terminal on the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

There were 5 heavy duty diesel trucks chosen for 6 weeks, 5 days a week, which counted around 5 million rows of data. The area of the study was limited to a specified area with the areas covering 11 zip codes.

Instantaneous speed and acceleration of vehicles were collected on a second-by-second basis using Global Positioning System (GPS) devices. Then, for each second-by-second data, Vehicle Specific Power (VSP) value was calculated using instantaneous speed and acceleration rate. VSP and instantaneous speeds of the vehicles were used to obtain the operating mode distribution bins according to the standard provided by the MOtor Vehicle Emission Simulator (MOVES). The vehicle emissions were calculated based on the operating mode binning approach. Emission factors analyzed in this study are Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Hydrocarbons (HC) and particulate matter (PM).

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my Parents Dr. Mohsen Khademi and Ms. Sedigheh Doroudchi for giving birth to me in the first place and supporting me spiritually throughout my life, for their patience, motivation, enthusiasm, and immense knowledge. Their guidance helped me in all the time of my life and also in writing this paper. I cannot imagine having a better mentor than them, ever.

I would also like to thank my supervisor, Dr. Fengxiang Qiao, for his guidance and relaxed, thoughtful insight. I want to thank him for his unflagging encouragement and serving as a role model to me as a junior member of academia. He has been a strong and supportive adviser throughout my graduate school career; he has always given me great freedom to pursue independent work.

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Today, mobile source port emissions have become quite common, which is why these factors are impacting the Ozone layer. As such many organizations have realized the problem posed by this situation, which is why many are focusing on research of how to improve it. In the ports, the main source of pollution is as a result of mobile source emissions. Mobile source port emissions are generated by marine vessels and by land based sources at ports. Marine emissions come primarily from diesel engines operating on oceangoing vessels (OGVs), tugs and tows, dredges, and other vessels operating within a port area. Land-based emission sources include cargo handling equipment (CHE) such as terminal tractors, cranes, container handlers, and forklifts, as well as heavy duty trucks and locomotives operating within a port area. These land-based sources also are likely to have diesel engines. Diesel emissions of concern include Carbon Monoxide (CO), Carbon Dioxide (CO2), Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), and Hydrocarbons (HC), particulate matter (PM), and toxics. Stationary emission sources at ports also need to be counted in total port emissions.

CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

As indicated in the previous chapter, the focus of most researchers whose area of interests are pollution, is slowly turning towards port emission. Therefore, to ensure a complete understanding of the nature of this research, a comprehensive review of literature is recommended. As such, this chapter will feature a summary of the existing efforts and milestones achieved in the various studies conducted. Hence, the existing research on port emissions will be synthesized. This section will feature two types of review efforts; 1) The reviews and summaries from authoritative agencies and research organizations such as the EPA will be presented. 2) The reviews conducted by individual researchers will be obtained to give more details on specific research topics.

Summary and Review Efforts from EPA

Estimating emissions generally involves applying emission factors to measures of port activity. Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) offers only limited guidance regarding the development of port emission inventories, and most small and mid-size ports do not have extensive resources to devote to inventory development. As a consequence, many current emission inventories suffer from poor quantification of port activity and use of outdated emission factors.

On the other hand, living in communities significantly impacted by air pollution causes adverse health effects particularly for; children, the elderly, and those with compromised health. The communities closest to the ports, adjacent to heavily traveled freeways, and near rail facilities are subjected to even greater impacts and have a greater localized risk due to exposures to unacceptably high levels of diesel PM. Diesel PM poses a lung cancer hazard and causes respiratory and cardiovascular health effects that increase the risk of premature death. (Miguel, 2006) Diesel PM Emissions from the ports impact a large area and the associated potential health risks are of significant concern. (Di, 2006)

To be specified about the role of Heavy Duty Diesel Trucks at Ports area emission, it can be seen that port truck activities on Port of Long Beach, Port of Los Angeles and Port of Oakland generated approximately 7,075 tons per year (TPY) of NOx and 564 tons per year of diesel PM in 2005. These emissions represent 23 percent of all port-related NOx emissions and nine percent of all port-related diesel PM emissions. (Miguel, 2006).Table 1: Estimated 2005 Port Truck Emissions for the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Oakland (rounded) (Miguel, 2006)

Port PM (TPY) NOx (TPY)

Port of Long Beach (POLB)

Port of Los Angeles (POLA)

(Including Regional on-road) 491 6,048

Port of Oakland

(Including Regional on-road) 73 1,027

Total 564 7,075

Summary and Review Efforts from SCAG

As of January 1, 2008, all diesel-fueled trucks with a GVWR greater than 10,000 pounds are prohibited to idle for more than 5 minutes when stopped within Californias borders. This regulation applies to both day cabs and trucks with sleeper berths. Model year 2008 and newer sleeper berth trucks are required to be equipped with a non-programmable engine shutdown system that automatically turns off the engine after five minutes of idling (or optionally meet a stringent NOx idling emission standard). Day cab trucks and pre-2008 sleeper berth trucks must manually shut down engines. The regulation also sets emission performance requirements for technologies such as diesel-fueled auxiliary power systems (APS) and fuel-fired heaters that are used for cab temperature control. (SCAG, 2012)

ARB and South Coast AQMD use three categories of Heavy Duty vehicles based on gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR), shown in table 2, with the light Heavy Duty (LHD) category sometimes split into LHD1 and LHD2. (SCAG, 2012)

Table SEQ Table \* ARABIC 2: Heavy Duty Vehicle Classes

Heavy Duty Vehicle Classes Description of Vehicle Weight Class (lbs)

Light Heavy Duty trucks (LHD) 1 8,501-10,000

Light Heavy Duty Trucks (LHD) 2 10,001-14,000

Medium Heavy Duty trucks (MHD) 14,001-33,000

Heavy Duty trucks (HHD) 33,001-80,000

Figure 1 shows the current sources of goods movement emissions in SCAG by Source, 2010. Heavy Duty trucks contribute 75% of the NOx emissions and 58% the PM2.5 emissions from goods movement. Freight trains contribute 4-5% of goods movement emissions. (SCAG, 2012)

Figure SEQ Exhibit \* ARABIC 1: Goods Movement NOx and PM 2.5 Emissions in SCAG by Source, 2010

Summary and Review Efforts from HEI

In industrial areas and places that have high traffic, the potential for increased human exposure to air toxics is high, compared to other areas lacking this attribute. Researchers from the HEI became interested in researching these hot spots so as to better understand the situation (HEI, 2012). In 2011, HEI published two studies related to these hot spots. In one of these studies led by John Splengler from the Harvard school of Public health, it was noted that the U.S border that crosses into Buffalo New York represented a potential hot spot as approximately 4000 trucks cross here daily (HEI, 2012). This, however, is not the case as when this is compared to other sites in the U.S, the levels were not elevated. This was attributed to the fact that winds blew from this site, thus emissions were being transported to other areas. Nevertheless, this report by Splengler will be effective in analyzing the source of pollutants in regions away from ports.

Summary and Review Efforts from Los Angeles Collaborative for Environmental Health and Justice

In 2004, the Los Angeles Collaborative for Environmental Health and Justice released a report titled Building a Regional Voice for Environmental Justice. This report drew on the data that was publicly available, identified and documented the patterns of both health and environmental risks that were facing low income earners of color (L.A.C.E.H.J, 2010). This report was among the first to id...