A coalition of community organizations on Wednesday demanded strict environmental regulations for a planned bulk commodity terminal in West Oakland. Those concerned said that the processing of coal at the terminal will cause air pollution due to coal dust, potentially leading to adverse public health outcomes.<\/p>\n
At a news conference, members of the Keep Coal Out of Oakland Coalition announced that they have submitted an open letter to the Bay Area Air District, calling for a cap on the quantity of coal passing through the terminal, stringent emission limits to mitigate coal dust, and air quality monitoring.<\/p>\n
The letter was signed by 40 organizations and more than 1,000 individuals.<\/p>\n
The contentious Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, or OBOT, is a proposed facility that will receive bulk commodities \u2014 raw materials like iron ore, cement, and coal that are shipped in large quantities \u2014 from all over the country, before being exported via sea. It will be located at the former Oakland Army Base near the Bay Bridge in West Oakland.<\/p>\n
As part of its operations, the OBOT will receive unprocessed coal brought in via a railway route that runs along the coast of the East Bay, from Martinez to Oakland.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t want to perpetuate this legacy of putting pollution burdens on people of color and practicing environmental racism. And the stakes are life and death \u2026 not just in West Oakland, but in Berkeley, in Martinez, in all these communities that are along the route of this train.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veronica Eady, West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, members of the Keep Coal Out of Oakland Coalition said that the trains carrying unprocessed coal will release coal dust into the air along the route, leading to increased ambient PM2.5 levels in the region. PM2.5 is a measure of pollution that indicates the quantity of fine, inhalable particulate matter in the air.<\/p>\n
A 2023 study cited in the coalition\u2019s open letter found that the PM2.5 pollution caused by the coal trains could cause lung disease, stroke, cardiovascular disease, asthma, and premature mortality along the proposed rail corridor.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo describe PM2.5, to describe coal dust \u2014 this is a devil\u2019s brew of toxins,\u201d said Dr. Janice Kirsch, a member of the nonprofit 350 Bay Area<\/a>, which is a signatory on the letter, at the news conference. \u201cThe particles actually carry within them \u2014 like Trojan horses \u2014 metals and volatile organic compounds, and they affect every organ in the body,\u201d Kirsch added.<\/p>\n High stakes for the community<\/p>\n Ted Franklin, representing another signatory group, No Coal in Oakland<\/a>, said that the responsibility falls upon the Bay Area Air District to protect the residents of Oakland and other East Bay cities from the pollution caused by the coal trains, which he said could be running by 2028.<\/p>\n