Going after polluting ships

Saturday, April 4, 2009 | 2:05 a.m.

Air pollution isn’t limited to filthy emissions from automobiles and factory smokestacks. Diesel-powered ships and tankers that travel the world’s oceans are polluters, too.

That is why the United States and Canada have requested that the International Maritime Organization, which regulates shipping on behalf of the United Nations, approve emission control zones that would require oceangoing vessels that come within 230 miles of shore to adhere to strict air quality standards.

The proposal, which could go into effect by 2015 if approved, would reduce sulfur in fuel by 98 percent, particulate matter emissions by 85 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 80 percent from current global standards.

The maritime agency should create these zones because efforts to reduce land-based pollution along coastal areas won’t do much good in the long run without similar efforts offshore. A report released Monday by the American Lung Association, the Environmental Defense Fund and other environmental groups estimated that more than 87 million Americans live in port areas that don’t meet federal air quality standards.

The Environmental Protection Agency, in a separate report also released Monday, said the ocean zones would save up to 8,300 American and Canadian lives each year by 2020. The emission standards would not only protect coastal residents, but would also improve air quality as far inland as Kansas, the EPA said.

“This is an important — and long overdue — step in our efforts to protect the air and water along our shores, and the health of the people in our coastal communities,” EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said.

An EPA report estimated that in 2001, oceangoing vessels spewed 745,000 tons of smog-forming oxides and 450,000 tons of sulfur dioxide, which contribute to ground-level pollution. Ships and tankers also account for 3 percent of the world’s greenhouse gas pollution.

It all adds up to harmful emission levels that will only get worse if left unabated. That is why the proposed emission standards should be applied not only to our shores but also worldwide.