Regarding Mike Lee's article Sept. 27 on the clean air plan, “Ships are top port polluters”:

I live on National City's west side. The west side, unfortunately, has higher reported incidences of asthma. That is believed due to air pollution caused by both a high number of auto body shops and from truck traffic to and from the port.

The leaders of the Port of San Diego must take into account the effects that the pollutants are having upon the people of this area. Many of those suffering from asthma and other lung problems are children. Too many generations of youngsters have grown up breathing the highly polluted air.

I hope that measures such as re-routing and reduction of truck traffic away from residential areas will be included in the plans the port says it will take. Unfortunately, plans have been proposed before. I hope it will not take years or decades to solve the air pollution problem.

I want our children on the west side to have the same right to clean air and be free of lung problems as anyone else in San Diego County. I want the port leaders to keep this in mind as they make plans to mitigate the effects of port activity.

J. MEDINA
National City

I am a resident of National City and a mother who is concerned about the health of her children.

These days people are exposed to all kinds of toxics. In National City, there is so much contamination that comes from the trucks that pass through our community or on the freeway.

Even though our working port is not huge, it does contaminate and affect the health of our children. I would have liked to have seen the article reflect that trucks bring toxics into our community, and with it diseases such as asthma.

I am not against the port's activities or commerce. But there are already enough trucks and ships. We don't need more.

CARMEN GUTIERREZ
National City