Diesel emissions are known toxic air contaminants and emissions from locomotives and rail yard equipment have not been effectively regulated. Breathing in diesel exhaust contributes to cancer, asthma, heart disease, premature birth, increased school absence, and other health problems. Act now to protect public health!
Health Risk Assessments (HRA) on 18 rail yards in California have demonstrated that living near a rail yard, a large diesel emission source, poses significant public health risk resulting from exposure to diesel particulate matter (PM). The Air Resource Board identified diesel particulate matter (PM) as a toxic air contaminant based on its potential to cause cancer and other adverse health problems, including respiratory illnesses and increased risk of heart disease. The HRAs found that in total, these rail yards are responsible for 210 tons of diesel pollution a year and put over 3 million people at risk of cancer. Five of these rail yards pose an excessive individual cancer risk of 500-2,500 chances per million, well beyond the level EPA considers.
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