Ulloa, who was diagnosed with asthma a few years ago, suffers frequent breathing problems and was hospitalized after one attack. The truck traffic is likely a trigger, since health officials say diesel exhaust is known to causeThe parade of big rigs in his neighborhood started four years ago, after a series of traffic pattern changes altered their route.
One deadline already has passed: All new drayage trucks, which are used to haul containers from ports, were supposed to be zero emissions by last October. But that deadline is not yet being enforced. Electric heavy-duty trucks have ranges up to 250 miles, while hydrogen-powered ones can drive about 500 miles on a full tank. They can use the same public fast chargers as cars, but that’s impractical because they take up too much space and charging can take up to six hours. For hydrogen, only 22 fueling stations for large trucks are operating or in development statewide, according to the California Energy Commission.
Alammari, the truck company owner from Oakland, said he bought his two hydrogen trucks because he had interest from a shipping company that wanted to work with zero-emission vehicles. The profits Alammari would have made working with that company would have justified the added costs of operating a hydrogen fuel cell truck, he said.
“If I don’t get customers to use these trucks, The Crew Transportation is not going to move forward to get the three remaining hydrogen trucks we ordered,” he said. In the Los Angeles area, Sandra Espinioza, a truck driver for IMC Logistics, drives seven miles between Lomita and Torrance several times a day before powering up at the WattEV charging station in Long Beach. It’s a short and easy work route that makes it easy for a battery-powered truck.
Gillis said trucking companies essentially are conducting research and development with these zero- emission technologies. The new trucks have frequent recalls and can make hauls more expensive. Battery powered trucks have to be used for shorter trips because of their limited range. Ulloa looks out of his bedroom window toward Drumm Avenue in Wilmington and sees diesel trucks hauling cargo from the Port of Los Angeles lined up on his street. To feel any relief, he confines himself in this room.
Now, at 31, Antonio sees no kids outside. Families keep their children indoors and shut all the windows to keep the pollution and noise out. “It’s a literal case of life and death for a lot of our community members and our loved ones,” said Paola Vargas, a Carson resident and organizer with nonprofit East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice.
The harm to disadvantaged communities extends to the Inland Empire, where an abundance of land is spurring warehouse development that draws more truck traffic.
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