WASHINGTON — The International Brotherhood of Teamsters today joined a lawsuit over the Bush Administration’s failure to address environmental health concerns with Mexican truck emissions. A coalition of environmental, labor and industry groups took the legal action to prevent the White House from allowing commercial Mexican trucks complete access to U.S. highways. The plaintiffs are seeking an emergency injunction to prevent the proposed federal regulations from becoming effective on May 3, 2002.
“Trucks that cross our border from Mexico must meet U.S. emissions standards,” said James P. Hoffa, Teamsters General President. “Unless these standards are met, we should not allow these trucks to further pollute the air we breathe.”
Currently, Mexico does not have strict controls on diesel emissions. Mexico-domiciled diesel trucks have already dramatically increased air pollution in the western border states. Diesel and its component chemicals have been linked to cancer, birth defects and asthma.
The groups filing suit are also seeking an injunction requiring the Bush Administration to conduct an Environmental Impact Statement so that significant public health concerns about these trucks can be fully addressed before they are allowed throughout the country.
Not only do Mexican trucks not have the same emissions controls, they do not use comparable fuels. This results in the emission of significantly greater quantities of harmful air pollutants. Moreover, the disparity will widen considerably in 2007 when U.S. trucks will be required to comply with more rigorous emissions standards and to begin using ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel.
Although the Bush Administration performed an environmental assessment, the lawsuit references a report by Sierra Research, Inc. that points out flaws in the assessment, including:
* Only data for the year 2000 were considered. Long-term effects on U.S. air quality may be more severe. The disparity between the emissions rates of U.S. and Mexican trucks will only increase as tougher EPA standards take effect in the years ahead.
* Mexican trucks will emit more of the oxides Nitrogen (NOx) and Particulate Matter (PM) than U.S. trucks over a 20-year period.
The Sierra report predicts an increase in emissions if the moratorium is lifted due to a rise in freight traffic and the replacement of U.S. trucks with older Mexican trucks that meet less stringent emissions standards.
In addition to Public Citizen, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and the Environmental Law Foundation, other plaintiffs in the suit, which was filed in federal court in San Francisco, include the California Federation of Labor and the California Trucking Association. The California Attorney General is supporting the lawsuit with an amicus brief. The plaintiffs are represented by Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes and Lerach LLP and Altshuler Berzon Nussbaum Rubin & Demain.
Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents more than 1.4 million hardworking men and women throughout the United States and Canada.