Shipyard Pollution: Campaign for Clean and Safe Shipyards

The shoreline landscape of San Diego Bay is spotted with highly polluting shipbuilding and ship repair facilities, with the largest operations concentrated adjacent to low-income communities of color. Environmental Health Coalition and the impacted communities have been concerned about the hazardous waste, air pollution, and discharges into the Bay generated by shipyard activities. These toxins threaten public health and the environment, particularly for the workers and local residents of Barrio Logan and National City.

EHC believes that the best means for reducing and eliminating toxins from entering the environment is pollution prevention. Pollution prevention, or toxics use reduction, is a strategy for substantially reducing the use of toxic chemicals.

Environmental Health Coalition has received a grant from the US EPA Environmental Justice Pollution Prevention program to:

• identify opportunities for and advocate for pollution prevention within the shipbuilding and ship repair industry;
• establish a reliable way of measuring reductions that includes both per unit reductions and overall reductions;
• develop a mechanism for alerting the community to cumulative overloads;
• empower community residents to resolve toxic pollution problems in their neighborhoods;
• and reduce pollution sources within and adjacent to the target communities.

In order to accomplish these goals, EHC has embarked on a campaign for Clean and Safe Shipyards. This campaign is a joint effort between EHC, the San Diego/Imperial Counties Labor Council AFL-CIO, and the United Waterfront Council (a coalition of seven union at NASSCO). The goal is to make the shipyards good neighbors and safe employers. Over twenty other labor, environmental and community organizations have joined the campaign.

Shipyard Pollution: What is the Problem?

The shipbuilding and repair facilities along the San Diego Bay conduct common shipyard activities such as metal cutting, welding, surface preparation and painting that are potential sources of toxic pollution to the land, air and water. The shipyard facilities contribute to an inequitable pollution burden on the residents of the adjacent communities. These communities are predominately Latino communities and among the poorest in the County. The environmental and public health risks come from this industry's use, storage and disposal of hazardous materials and, to date, pollution control and waste minimization activities have not significantly reduced these risks. The major facilities of concern are: National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NAASCO), Southwest Marine and Continental Marine. An additional ship repair facility of concern is the Navy's Graving Dock at the San Diego Naval Station.

Air Toxics
The most persistent threat to the communities surrounding the shipyards comes from frequent exposure of residents to toxic chemicals emitted into the air. As part of the California Air Toxics "Hot Spots Law," significant polluters are required to assess their carcinogenic and other chronic and acute health risks to the surrounding communities. According to the 1996 Air Toxics report (issued in October of 1997) of 26 companies evaluated throughout the county, NAASCO ranks 3rd for cancer risk and 2nd in acute health risks; Southwest Marine ranks 8th in cancer risk and 4th in acute health risks; the 32nd Street Naval Station ranks 6th in cancer risk. Cancer and chronic non-cancer risks are driven primarily by hexavalent chromium emissions from welding operations; copper is the primary driver of acute health risks.

Water Pollution
San Diego Bay exhibits serious water quality problems as a result of historic activities and ongoing waste holdings. The shipyards and military bases have been implicated as the source of much of the pollution by several studies. The San Diego Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board) concluded that the commercial and Naval shipyards are NPDES "major" dischargers because they require a high level of regulatory effort, toxic wastes are present in their discharge, and they have numerous discharge points. Studies by the Regional Board and the State Mussel Watch Program revealed high levels of zinc, copper and tributyltin in the sediments adjacent to Southwest Marine, NAASCO and Campbell shipyards and in resident and planted mussels.

Finally, the most recent data again confirms the role of the shipyards in serious contamination of San Diego Bay. The Final Report of Chemistry, Toxicity, and Benthic Community Conditions in Sediments of the San Diego Region released in March 1997 concluded that Bay sediments have significant contamination of copper, mercury, PAHS, PCBs, and chlordane. These chemicals were found primarily in the industrial shipyard areas of the Bay.

As the brief review clearly shows, bayside shipyards and repair facilities threaten the health of residents in surrounding communities and the environment, specifically San Diego Bay. That is why EHC's Campaign for Clean and Safe Shipyards is a vital component to improving and protecting public and environmental health.

Solution = Good Neighbor Agreement

We believe the only permanent solution to ensuring that the shipyards are good employers and safe neighbors is to negotiate a binding, legal agreement between the neighbors, workers and the shipyards. This agreement, referred to as a Good Neighbor Agreement, would encompass at least the following commitments:

• Implement pollution prevention
• Comply with all environmental and worker health and safety laws
• Clean up toxic sediments in San Diego Bay
• Involve the community and workers in all decisions affecting their quality of life, public health and overall environment
• Implement labor agreements with all interested workers

This agreement will lead to community empowerment, reduced pollution and improved health and safety.

For more information, contact Laura Hunter at (619) 474-0220 or email LauraH@environmentalhealth.org