NKCDC Testimony
EPA Tier 3 Public Hearing
April 24, 2013

My name is Ariel Diliberto and I'm here on behalf of New Kensington Community Development Corporation (NKCDC). NKCDC has been working in the Fishtown, Port Richmond, and Kensington neighborhoods since 1985. The department I work in, the Community Engagement department, assists at least 150 residents each month with various quality of life concerns. Thirty residents volunteer multiple times per month on committees that help guide NKCDC's work. As a result, we are fairly in touch with neighborhood opinions and issues. Moreover, approximately a third of our staff live in our service area.

NKCDC is in support of Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards.

The Port of Philadelphia, the second largest importer of goods in the North Atlantic, is located in our service area. That means we have many trucks picking up goods at the port, and disseminating them across the country, via our service area. I-95 also runs through the neighborhood, further increasing air pollution and residents' exposure to it.

Traffic of trucks  to and from port facilities is a major concern; studies from other areas of the U.S. have shown that concentrations of ultrafine particles and gases from combustion can be highly elevated near roadways[1][,][2], and exposure to these and similar pollutants has been associated with risk of asthma and respiratory infections[3-6], lung cancer[7][,][8], low birth weight and preterm birth[3][,][9], and cardiopulmonary mortality[10][,][11].

According to the U.S. EPA's 2005 National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA), Philadelphia residents face a higher than average risk of respiratory disease and cancer due to air toxics exposure.

And a high percentage of residents of Philadelphia (23% of children and 17% of adults), and Port Richmond in particular (26% of children and 23% of adults), suffer from asthma,[12] compared to U.S. averages (9.4% of children[13] and 8.2% of adults[14]).

But what does this look like on the ground? It looks like trucks idling all year round on residential blocks, most detrimentally during the summer, when windows are open to the bedrooms of children and senior citizens alike.

It looks like soot collecting on windowsills daily, more than even the most diligent cleaners among us can keep up with.

It smells like exhaust, even in the ambient air outdoors. 

It looks like trucks driving down residential streets, driving right past "no tractor trailer" signs. 

NKCDC supports Tier 3 Motor Vehicle Emission and Fuel Standards to reduce smog forming pollution from gasoline powered cars and trucks. This proposal represents an important first step in improving the air quality for Philadelphians, for the residents in our service area, and particularly for those who live closest to the port.  

Sources:
   1. Zhu Y, Hinds WC, Kim S, Shen S, Sioutas C. Study of ultrafine particles near a major highway with heavy-duty diesel traffic. Atmos Environ 2002;36(27):4323-4335.
   2. Zhu Y, Hinds WC, Kim S, Sioutas C. Concentration and Size Distribution of Ultrafine Particles Near a Major Highway. J Air Waste Manag Assoc 2002;52:1032-1042.
   3. Brauer M, Hoek G, Smit HA, de Jongste JC, Gerritsen J, Postma DS, et al. Air pollution and development of asthma, allergy and infections in a birth cohort. Eur Respir J 2007;29(5):879-888.
   4. Brauer M, Hoek G, Van Vliet P, Meliefste K, Fischer PH, Wijga A, et al. Air Pollution from Traffic and the Development of Respiratory Infections and Asthmatic and Allergic Symptoms in Children. 2002;166(8):1092-1098.
   5. Gordian ME, Haneuse S, Wakefield J. An investigation of the association between traffic exposure and the diagnosis of asthma in children. J Expos Sci Environ Epidemiol 2005;16(1):49-55.
   6. Kim J, Huen K, Adams S, Smorodinsky S, Hoats A, Malig B, et al. Residential traffic and children's respiratory health. Environ Health Perspect 2008;116(9):1274-9.
   7. Silverman DT, Samanic CM, Blair AE, Rothman N, Lubin JH, Ziegler RG, et al. The diesel exhaust in miners study: A nested case-control study of lung cancer and diesel exhaust. J Natl Cancer Inst 2012;104(11):855-868.
   8. Attfield MD, Schleiff PL, Lubin JH, Blair A, Stewart PA, Vermeulen R, et al. The diesel exhaust in miners study: a cohort mortality study with emphasis on lung cancer. J Natl Cancer Inst 2012;104(11):869-83.
   9. Wu J, Ren C, Delfino RJ, Chung J, Wilhelm M, Ritz B. Association between local traffic-generated air pollution and preeclampsia and preterm delivery in the south coast air basin of California. Environ Health Perspect 2009;117(11):1773-9.
   10. Brunekreef B, Beelen R, Hoek G, Schouten L, Bausch-Goldbohm S, Fischer P, et al. Effects of long-term exposure to traffic-related air pollution on respiratory and cardiovascular mortality in the Netherlands: the NLCS-AIR study. Research report (Health Effects Institute) 2009;2009(139):5-71.
   11. Hoek G, Brunekreef B, Goldbohm S, Fischer P, van den Brandt PA. Association between mortality and indicators of traffic-related air pollution in the Netherlands: a cohort study. Lancet 2002;360(9341):1203-9.
   12. Philadelphia Health Management Corporation. 2008 Household Survey. In; 2008.
   13. Bloom B, Cohen R, GS F, National Center for Health Statistics. Summary health statistics for U.S. children: National Health Interview Survey, 2010. Vital Health Stat 2011;10(250). 
   14. Schiller J, Lucas J, Ward B, Peregoy J, National Center for Health Statistics. Summary Health Statistics for U.S. Adults: National Health Interview Survey, 2010. Vital Health Stat 2012;10(252).

