Agency to detail rail yard risks
New data about the potential health risks of living near Southern California’s booming rail yards will be released in a series of meetings that begins tonight in Commerce.
A similar study in 2004 at the Roseville yard near Sacramento found that living within 300 feet of a busy Union Pacific rail yard increased the risk of cancer. Regulators also found that diesel exhaust from the yard blanketed a much larger area than expected, appearing to spread as far as eight miles downwind.
Some community groups are angry that state regulators declined to release results for the Los Angeles area rail yards before this week’s meetings.
“This material is complex and technical. Presenting the draft results in person is the best way to introduce our work to community members,” Michael Scheible, California Air Resources Board deputy executive officer, said in a statement.
Today’s meeting is from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Commerce City Hall. Other meetings will be held Thursday in Los Angeles and in Mira Loma in Riverside County, and Friday in Wilmington. A full schedule is available at www.arb.ca.gov/railyard/community/community.htm.
Officials said there would be at least one more round of meetings in affected communities.
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