HEALTH ALERT: Freeways Harm CA

Did you know that almost half of California’s population lives within 1 mile of a freeway, and over 1 million people live within 100 meters of a freeway?

The proximity of residents to freeways, plus the amount of time daily spent on freeways means that exposure to toxic diesel pollution from trucks and buses is a problem for all of us, not just a problem for those who live closest to our ports. Think about it: port trucks travel from the ports and along the roads and freeways to their next destinations, exposing us all to their toxic diesel soot and damaging diesel particulates.

Combined, trucks and buses are the single largest source of toxic air pollution in the state of California. That’s why our collective attempts to push decision makers to implement strict environmental policies and cleanest available technologies in freight trucks are so important—the health and well-being of the majority of us is at stake.

When we say “we’re all port communities” we mean that port pollution affects us all.