Scientists Link Shipping Pollution to Lung Cancer, Deaths

By Alison Gonzalez

Published on November 09, 2007

The study, published in the Environmental Science and Technology journal, stated that ships emit approximately 1.2 million metric tons of ultra-fine carcinogenic particles each year, including carbon, sulfur, and nitrogen oxide.

These particles enter the lungs and pass into the blood, causing inflammations that eventually lead to heart and lung failure. Smaller particles pose the greatest danger to health.

The shipping industry is one of the least regulated sources of air pollution in the world, said David Marshall from the Clean Air Task Force. Because of this, it has a dramatic impact on the health of those who live on and around the world's coastlines.

The areas most affected by shipping pollution include densely-populated areas in East and South Asia, Europe, and the eastern United States.

Researchers said the death toll is expected to climb an estimated 40 percent by 2012 if nothing is done to change the industry.

They suggested shippers around the world take measures such as switching from diesel fuel to cleaner, fuels or installing exhaust filters to save lives. Such emission regulation efforts have already been adopted by the European Union and at California ports, which clean air advocates hope will spread on a global scale.

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