Log in - Help - May 18, 2013
CHE logo The Collaborative on Health and the Environment
You are here:  Home » Partner Resources » Case Study Quick Reference Guide
This site WWW
PARTNERSHIP EVENTS

CHE Partnership call: 25 Years of the Superfund Research Program: Highlights and Hope
Thur, May 23

CHE Partnership call: Cancer: The Professional and the Personal: A Conversation with Dr. Susan Love and Susan Braun
Tues, May 28

CHE Partnership call: The Story of Camp Lejeune: Contaminated Drinking Water, Cancer Clusters, and the Struggle for Justice
Wed, May 29
Hosted by the CHE Alaska Working Group and ACAT

CHE Partnership call: Stress as an Endocrine Disruptor: Maternal Psychosocial Stress During Pregnancy and Fetal Development
Thur, June 6
Hosted by the CHE Fertility and Reproductive Health Working Group

CHE Cafe call: The Rise of the US Environmental Health Movement: A Conversatin with Kate Davies
Thur, June 20


Conference: Healthy Environments Across Generations
New York Academy of Medicine
June 7-8, 2012
Continue the conversation: Join the conference on Facebook

5/2/13: MP3 recording available: When There Is No Epidemiologist

4/16/13: MP3 recording available: Late Lessons from Early Warnings: A Retrospective Look at Learning About Precaution

****

CHE Partners on why they value our work

Ditching Diesel: Community-Driven Research Reduces Pollution in West Oakland - A Quick Reference Guide

Authors

Meena Palaniappan

 

Summary

West Oakland , California, is a neighborhood surrounded by three freeways, the Port of Oakland, and the Oakland Army Base.  West Oakland is also the poorest neighborhood in the Bay Area.  This article describes how the West Oakland community worked in collaboration with the Pacific Institute on the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project to conduct research to reduce health impacts and pollution from diesel exhaust.

 

Type of Data/Science

Three studies were conducted:

1. A truck count on residential streets, as well as a survey of idling trucks that emit an enormous amount of diesel exhause in close proximity to residences and schools;

2. An inventory of diesel emissions throughout the whole West Oakland community; and

3. Indoor air monitoring study.

 

Type of Community Action

Series of meetings with the City of Oakland to designate truck routes away from neighborhood streets.

Advocacy efforts with the City of Oakland the the Port of Oakland to move truck-related businesses out of West Oakland and on to the Army Base site.

Obtained commitments from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District to put Air District resources and staff beyind the effort to reduce diesel pollution in highly polluted communities such as West Oakland.

 

Lessons Learned

Supportive partnerships between research organizations and community residents is extremely important for reducing risk in vulnerable communities.  The partnership between the Pacific Institute and the 7th St./McClymonds Corridor Neighborhood Improvement Initiative, armed the residents with scientific information.  The studies confirmed what residents already knew and gave them the power of scientific proof to advocate for environmental justice and clean air.

Community-driven research leads to specific and often creative solutions to environmental problems.  In West Oakland, the identification of the problem by community members led to interesting solutions that had not been considered by the City or Port authority:

-   Step up enforcement of illegal truck traffic,

-   Move truck-related businesses away from residential areas to land owned by the Port and Army Base,

-   Installation of electrical hook-ups so trucks waiting to enter the Port don't have to idle,

-   Financial incentives to get the dirtiest trucks off of the road, and

-   Creation of new truck routes with signs and other outreach to ensure driver knowledge and adherence to new routes. 

 

For More Information:

 "Clearing the Air: Reducing Diesel Pollution in West Oakland"

 

 

 

The Collaborative on Health and the Environment
c/o Commonweal, PO Box 316, Bolinas, CA 94924
For questions or comments about the website, email: info@healthandenvironment.org