EOHSI

Robert Laumbach, director of community outreach for the Rutgers Center for Environmental Exposures and Disease, worked with residents of Elizabeth, N.J., to count trucks moving down a particularly congested neighborhood street in 2014. In 2017, they succeeded in persuading city officials to pass an ordinance restricting heavy trucks on that road. Since the initial truck count, Laumbach and fellow researchers have found an 80% drop in black carbon and ultrafine particle counts in the neighborhood.

Oakland officials conducted a similar exercise with residents. Sinkoff said community leaders showed port representatives certain “hot spots” in the neighborhood that are characterized by heavy truck traffic. Although he acknowledged that trucks have become more environmentally friendly in recent years, Sinkoff said the management plan will further reduce air pollutants in the neighborhood. (Source: Transport Topics, November 27, 2018 – Eleanor Lamb)

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