04-18-2002 Regular Meeting and Public Hearing of the La Porte Planning and Zoning Commission

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. . ~i Legrand, Bernard N From: Sent: To: Jim Blackburn Ubb@blackbumcarter.com] Thursday, May 16, 2002 2:1S PM Brian Pietruszewski; Charlotte Cherry; Debra Gallington; Dick Morrison; Elaine Douglass; Ellyn Roof; Gerry Cooney; Harvill Weller; Katie Chimenti; Laurence W.'Tobin; Mary Beth Maher; Nancy Edmonson; Natalie O'Neill; Sally Antrobus FW: Study confirms cancer risk from soot Su~ject: SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/70607-pollutio1116.shtml Chemicals emitted by diesel trucks and other yehiclesare main cause Thursday, May 16, 2P02' SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER STAFF AND NEWS SERVICES A study released yesterday confirms that air in the Puget Sound area is among the nation's worst for levels of diesel soot, a major contributor to cancer'risk. The study by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency estimates that 550 in 1 million people would develop lung cancer over a 70-year life span from e~posure to burn~ng diesel fuel in the ~reater Seattle area. Nearly 700 in 1 million would be expected to develop cancer from exposure to diesel and some, 30 other pollutants measured in the study. "It's not something that people should panic over,'" said Stu Clark, policy analyst with the state Department of Ecology, "but it is something people should be concerned about." The health risks are in roughly the same range as exposure to second-hand smoke, he said. The study confirms a 1996 federal report that showed King, Snohomish, pierce and Kitsap counties are in the 90th percentile or above for levels of chemicals emitted by the burning of diesel fuel in semi-trucks and other vehicles, Clean Air Agency Director Dennis McLerran said. ' The agency was skeptical at first when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ranked the area's air pollution with cities such as Los Angeles and Houston, McLerran said. The study estimates that between 70 percent and 85 percent of cancer ' risk in the region comes from diesel fuel. Standard gasoline emissions remain,a concern, McLerran said, but cars, unlike diesel vehicles, are required to have catalytic converters and other pollution-reducing devices.' , Data came from six months of monitoring for pollutants at six King County sites: Beacon Hill, Georgetown and Maple Leaf in Seattle; suburban Lake Sammamish east of the city, Lake Forest Park to the north and SeaTac,' to ~he south. Models were used to estimate pollutants in the other three counties, and their levels were consistent with those measured in King County, McLerran said. ' Oiesel exhaust contains very fine particles that escape capture by'the lung's defense mechanisms. They bind toxins such as benzene and hydrocarbons and can enter the bloodstream. 1