FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 4, 2009
CONTACT: Valerie Lapin, 650-455-3300
New Study to Reveal Alarmingly High Costs of Health, Environmental, and Worker Impacts of the Broken Oakland Port Trucking System
(Oakland, CA) Amid intense pressure on the Port of Oakland from East Bay residents, truck drivers, public health professionals, environmental advocates and community leaders to reform the Port trucking system, a new study finds enormous costs of health, environmental and worker impacts due to Port truck diesel pollution and poor working conditions. Data has been collected and tallied to put a price tag on the cost of Oakland Port pollution to the health of residents, workers and the public health system.
An advanced copy of the report entitled Taking a Toll: The high cost of health, environmental, and worker impacts of the Oakland Port trucking system will be released and its findings will be presented by the study authors, Jennifer Lin, Researcher Director, East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy and Swati Prakash, Program Director, Pacific Institute, during a Tele Press Conference Wednesday, February 4 at 10:00am PST.
A public health physician will discuss health problems associated with the Port trucking system as well as strains placed on the public health care system. A West Oakland resident and an Oakland Port truck driver will each give first-hand accounts of their own experiences with the broken Port trucking system and related health problems.
Tele Press Conference
To present findings from Taking a Toll: The high cost of health, environmental, and worker impacts of the Oakland Port trucking system
Date: Feb. 4, 2009 at 10:00am (PST)
To participate in the Tele Press Conference and request an advanced copy of the study, R.S.V.P. to Valerie Lapin at Valerie. [email protected] or (650)455-3300. You will be provided with a Tele Press Conference call in telephone number.
According to the study, Oakland Port truck diesel emissions pollute surrounding neighborhoods and contribute to premature death, exacerbate asthma and increase cancer risk and other diseases among residents and drivers. Residents and truck drivers pay the price with their health, and taxpayers, residents and truck drivers pay the health care costs. The study also discusses additional negative impacts such as noise, pedestrian hazards, lack of sleep and lower school performance caused by trucks in the neighborhoods.