Death by Ships?

[JonathanCole]

Death by ships
Solar's looking better every day

Published: 07 November 2007 06:10 PM
Source: The Engineer Online
http://www.theengineer.co.uk/Articles/302936/Death+by+ships.htm



Pollution from marine shipping causes approximately 60,000 premature cardiopulmonary and lung cancer deaths around the world each year, according to a new report.
The report benchmarks for the first time the number of annual deaths caused globally by pollution from marine vessels, with coastal regions in Asia and Europe the most affected.
Conducted by James Corbett of the University of Delaware and James Winebrake from the Rochester Institute of Technology, the study correlates the global distribution of particulate matter -black carbon, sulphur, nitrogen and organic particles - released from ships’ smoke stacks with heart disease and lung cancer mortalities in adults.
The results indicate that approximately 60,000 people die prematurely around the world each year from shipping-related emissions. Under current regulation, and with the expected growth in shipping activity, Corbett and Winebrake estimate the annual mortalities from ship emissions could increase by 40 percent by 2012.
Corbett and Winebrake’s results come in the midst of current discussions by the International Maritime Organization to regulate emissions from ships.
Annual deaths related to shipping emissions in Europe are estimated at 26,710, while the mortality rate is 19,870 in East Asia and 9,950 in South Asia. North America has approximately 5,000 premature deaths, concentrated mostly in the Gulf Coast region, the West Coast and the Northeast, while the eastern coast of South America has 790 mortalities.
Ships run on residual oil, which has sulphur content thousands of times greater than on-road diesel fuel. ‘Residual oil is a by-product of the refinery process and tends to be much dirtier than other petroleum products,’ said Winebrake, chair of RIT’s Department of Science, Technology and Society/Public Policy.
‘Our work will help people decide at what scale action should be taken,’ added Corbett, associate professor of marine policy at University of Delaware. ‘We want our analysis to enable dialogue about how to improve the environment and economic performance of our freight systems.’
The focus on long-term exposure to particulate matter in the study does not extend to impacts on children or other related health issues such as respiratory disease, asthma, hospital admissions and the economic impact of missed workdays and lost productivity.

[longliner45]

are we refurring to the people who work on these ships ,,? if so is it a ventalation issue?,,or is it that,,harbours are congested and have much pollution assosiated with trade?

[nero]

In Marseille, I live between the industrial port and the vieux port (small craft). Little airborn pollution comes from the boats that are there. The industrial port is another story. My balcony is at the same level as the top deck of many of the ships. We have an excellent view of the thick black smoke pouring out of the cold diesel engines. This smoke does not seem to make it to high up into the atmoshere. Instead, it is carried by the sea wind onto the buildings and people who live and work in this part of Marseille.

So much damage is done by this because it attacks the stone in the old buildings. The façades become almost completely black after 10 to 15 years of exposure.

Thank goodness the french are heavy cigarette smokers. Two negatives make positive results.

[charmc]

I mean no disrespect, but I am somewhat suspicious of academic studies that "prove" that a certain number of deaths are "caused" by specific industries or sources, especially when the sources are spread out around the world. For example, port cities are similar to all other cities in that they have vast numbers of cars and trucks, factories, power plants, etc. in their vicinity. Normal volcanic activity in the world each year, not counting the rare major eruptions that make headlines, is reported to put far greater tonnage of pollutants into the atmosphere than all manmade sources combined. I've seen numbers of 300 million tons of CO2 alone, with similar amounts of sulfur dioxide and methane, plus millions of tons of mercury and other heavy metals.. Again, that is not counting the major eruptions, several of which occur each year. One sudy reported, "The amount of sulfur dioxide put out by Laki (a major Icelandic eruption) in nine months was ten times more than the amount that now comes from all of western European industrial sources in a year." With so many sources, I find it difficult to believe these folks can pinpoint shipping as the specific cause of specific deaths from its specific pollution.

None of that means that industrial pollution is not a big problem. It is, and reducing all sources needs to be a higher priority for industry and government all over the world. I just hate the scare tactics and bad science used by too many people who benefit from them. Science and engineering tend to get buried by politics and media hype. The result makes it harder to cooperate in efforts to find effective solutions.

[riggertroy]

So a person lives (and dies) at a large port city, they experience in the same city - diesel / petrol / gas and industrial exhausts that total a far greater percentage of pollutants than those of ships exhausts, not to mention second hand cigarete smoke and other byproducts of modern living.
How can these researchers define what kills people, how many seafarers have died as a result of ship exhaust emissions? How can it be proved?

[rwatson]

um - dont want to appear picky , but did you actually read the details ?
"The results indicate that approximately 60,000 people die prematurely around the world each year from shipping-related emissions."
"Ships run on residual oil, which has sulphur content thousands of times greater than on-road diesel fuel."
You dont think they would have thought of the bleeding obvious ?

did you know that the modern BIG ships diesels are the most mechanically efficient of internal combustion engines?
nitrous oxides, sulphur dioxides, co2, are so very low compared with your average jap diesel car of truck they burn less fuel per kw/hr than any other diesel eng
Now consider the work done?
Now if you talk 1000 hp outboards behind a pleasure boat, I say ban them
How do I know this, well i used to tune locos for mine use, under suprvision of CSRO or whatever was called, was long ago
nOW YOU TAKE A BULKER shifting 100000 tonne, say from Odeca in Ua to oh Rotterdam, , can you compare the scenario, 5000 articulated trucks to do the same job? Ships have been and always will be the most eviron friendly method of shifting anything

[riggertroy]

Yes I did read the details,
I am not saying they are wrong, but how can they determine that it was pollution from marine shipping that was the cause of death - it may have been a contributing factor - but not the sole factor in those supposed 60,000 deaths.
Maybe poor nutrition tied into high levels of all type of pollutants leads to higher mortality - therefore if the people had good nutrition they may not have died - there are so many variables that need to be taken into account.

How many studies have we heard of that say that coffee is good, then bad then good in moderation, then bad no matter what. Results change with refinement of the methods used in the research.

Also the results may vary depending upon who commissioned the report.

There are many questions you could ask about this report - Take the report with a pince of salt - opps that's supposed to be bad for the heart

[Landlubber]

Yes but salt is yummy on boiled eggs, oops they are bad for you too!

[Frosty]

60 premature deaths ?? Thats about how many people have died of starvation while ive been reading this.

[FAST FRED]

"Pollution from marine shipping causes approximately 60,000 premature cardiopulmonary and lung cancer deaths around the world each year,"

NAME ONE!

FF

[Frosty]

Sorry 60,000.

A mans life consists of many variables. where and how he lives ,what he eats and more importantly his genes from his parents.

After 3 score years and ten how can it be possible to attribute a premature death to working aboard a ship.

I heard the same about Airline pilots ,--adrenalin hardening the arteries.

Car painters die early too. Foundry workers. Nurses can get diseases.---- Hell working is just too dangerous.

Maybe we should do some investigation into starvation though. It does seem to shorten life as well. Maybe theres a simple cure for that.

Theres some people in Burma too getting premature deaths that did'nt even have a job. Who gives a **** any way.

Oprah earned 250 million in 2006!!! Not had ----earned.

I think I will get a premature death if I get any more angry.

What is a premature death any way. You mean you died before you wanted to?

Its a few years ago now but I read the the US government gave some students a grant of 20,000 dollars to find an answer to the question . Why don't prisoners like being in prison?

Stupid bloody world.

[longliner45]

gotta agree with frosty,,,,,most people think electrice cars are the answer,what they dont think is that ,,when they plug thier car into a socket to be recharged ,,,some guy is shoveling another lump of coal into the furnace at a power plant,,,and yes it is so dismaying that the government even cares why prisoners have a bad day,what the #%&ck,,,,,,,,longliner

[Fanie]

Yeah ! Oprah earned 250 mil... and doesn't even own a decent boat ! How stupid can that be.

[safewalrus]

As Frosty said "what is a premature death?"

the story goes that theres a bloke up in heaven owns a big book with everybodies names in it, this book is kind of like a diary, when he opens to todays page in the morning everybody who's name is on that page will die on that day -no getting away from it, hit by a bus, die of cancer whatever, even staying in bed is not safe - the roof will collapse - IF YOUR NAMES ON THE PAGE YOU ARE DEAD! NOTHING PREMATURE ABOUT IT!! age don't mean a thing, it's your name that counts (and not your earthly name either)!