http://www.prop65attheports.com/
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The Ports of Long Beach and Los
Angeles are the nation's two largest ports. Not surprisingly, the many
operations at the Ports generate diesel engine exhaust. Operations
involving the use of diesel fuel include: (i) cargo and cruise ships
arriving and docking at the Ports, (ii) trucks and trains moving goods;
and (iii) terminal equipment loading and unloading cargo.
Diesel
engines have been in use for many decades. Only recently have
alternative fuel blends or modified diesel engines become available.
Some operators at the Ports voluntarily have converted to using newly
available fuels and engines in place of standard fuels or older engines
for some of their operations. In addition, California laws are mandating
changes in Port operations which already do, or will, require newer,
cleaner burning engines and fuels.
Diesel engines produce smoke
as a by-product of the combustion of diesel fuel. The smoke contains gas
compounds and fine particles (called "soot" or "particulate matter").
On October 1, 1990 the State of California listed diesel engine exhaust
as a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer pursuant
to Proposition 65, also known as "The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic
Enforcement Act of 1986". In 1998, the California Environmental
Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
("OEHHA") added diesel engine exhaust to the State's list of toxic air
contaminants.
In 2008, pursuant to Proposition 65, the Attorney
General of California reached an agreement to provide warnings to the
community with the operators at the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles listed here.
Proposition 65 requires a "clear and reasonable" warning be given for
listed chemicals, such as diesel engine exhaust, and the components of
that exhaust, that cause cancer or reproductive harm.
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