(The following story by Abby Sewell appeared on the Desert Dispatch website on February 25, 2009.)
BARSTOW, Calif. — As part of a statewide push to reduce pollution from railyards, BNSF Railway has put together a preliminary plan to cut in half the diesel emissions from its Barstow railyard, reducing health risks to nearby residents.
The Barstow yard was one of 18 California railyards studied by the state Air Resources Board to determine potential health risks — including increased risk of cancer — to local residents due to diesel emissions. As a second step in the process, the air board is now working with the rail companies to develop plans for reducing the risks.
The air board study found that in 2005 Barstow’s railyard, which is BNSF’s major hub in California, emitted the highest level of particulate matter from diesel exhaust out of the 18 railyards studied.
The mitigation plan compiled by BNSF, with input by the air board, would reduce emissions by a projected 45 to 62 percent by 2020, depending on the level of growth in train traffic. The risk assessment and plan are the result of a 2005 agreement between the air board, BNSF and Union Pacific Railroad.
Representatives of BNSF and the air board came to Barstow Tuesday to present the BNSF mitigation plan and take public comments.
The pollution reduction in Barstow would be largely achieved by accelerating the turnover of equipment or retrofitting older equipment with new lower-emission technology, according to the BNSF plan. As part of the 2005 agreement, BNSF has already agreed to use cleaner-burning fuel for locomotives based in California and to fit out their engines with idle shut-off devices that shut the engine off after 15 minutes of idling.
In the meantime, the heightened level of diesel emissions near the yards puts people living nearby at a potentially increased risk for cancer and other health problems, according to the air board risk assessment released in June.
Although Barstow’s emissions were higher than the other yards studied, the potential added health risks were lower than some less-polluting yards like the BNSF railyard in San Bernardino, largely because the typical wind patterns blow the pollution northeast, away from the city’s main population centers, said Harold Holmes, a manager with the air board.
Still, some local residents believe the pollution has already impacted them. Barstow resident Maria Hernandez has three sisters who have had cervical or breast cancer, and her mother has asthma. She believes their health problems may be related to the six or seven years in the 1970s when the family lived on Pallesi Street, next to the BNSF yard, while her younger sisters were small children.
“What I want to hear more about is what kind of testing they need to do from before 2005,” Hernandez said.
Holmes said, however, that there is currently no way to link specific cancer cases to diesel particulate matter pollution. The air board’s risk assessment was based on estimates that came out of previous studies on incidence of cancer among railroad workers.
“What we’re trying to do, while we’re waiting for the science to catch up, is to reduce the risk,” he said.
Holmes said the air board wants to see overall diesel emissions from railyards in California reduced by 85 percent by 2020. Along with the mitigation plans for each individual yard, the air board is in process of creating a plan to reduce railyard emissions statewide.
The air board will be taking public comments on BNSF’s proposed mitigation plan for the next 30 days before finalizing it.