Volunteers organize West Oakland air workshop

You don't need to be an expert to be a Sierra Club volunteer, but sometimes you want to learn from the experts. That's why a band of folks in the Northern Alameda County Group, concerned about the problems of air pollution in West Oakland, organized the "West Oakland Air Pollution Workshop" held on May 20 at Hoover Elementary School in West Oakland.

They designed the workshop to be an opportunity for community members and activists (40 attended) to learn about air-pollution problems facing West Oakland and the Bay Area so as to be better prepared to take the next steps towards solutions. One report found six times more diesel particulates emitted per person in West Oakland than the state average. The workshop covered causes and consequences of air pollution, especially its links to public health (asthma, cancer, and other lung disease); environmental justice; and current initiatives by regulatory agencies.

In the workshop's initial presentation, Rajiv Bhatia, director of environmental health for the San Francisco Department of Public Health (see his article "Putting the `health' in healthy cities" in the March-April Yodeler, page 4), explained that land-use decisions and ordinances are key factors in determining people's exposure to harmful particles in the air (from diesel engines and passenger vehicles). Bhatia argued that current Oakland projects, such as Oak-to-Ninth (see article, page 20), Central Station, and the Oakland Army Base redevelopment, all located close to busy freeway corridors, need to take air pollution more into account either by maintaining safe distances from roadways or including ventilation and filtration systems.

The second presentation, by Azibuike Akaba, a California Environmental Protection Agency employee and a West Oakland community advocate, was titled "Health Disparities and Environmental Justice in West Oakland". He focused on environmental-justice issues, particularly in regards to Port of Oakland-related issues that are key to resolving West Oakland's chronically poor air quality.

A panel discussion of community activists next voiced frustration that a city the size of Oakland has no Department of Public Health, forcing us to go to the county Department of the Environment with our public health concerns. Panelists spoke about the importance of communicating one-on-one with community members, and of working collaboratively with all stakeholders including industry, government and community groups. Listening to these panelists' stories, it became clear that to accomplish any significant change in the Bay Area, different stakeholders (community residents, local businesses, and local activists) need to be involved, to bring pressure on the decision-makers in a meaningful way. Specific topics of discussion were the campaign to shut down San Francisco's Bayview-Hunters Point power plant (Karen Pierce presenting), the establishment of a truck route in West Oakland (Brian Beveridge), and current problems associated with truck traffic and parking in residential areas in West Oakland.

A second panel brought together representatives from the Port of Oakland, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (Local 10), and the audience was able to ask them questions.

Our special thanks to the volunteers who helped organize this event, including:

• Margaret Gordon
• Jeff Kessel
• Frank Gallo
• Brian Beveridge
• Arthur Boone.

A DVD with most of the content of the workshop is available for borrowing or purchase. For details contact Kent Lewandowski at (510) 625-5831; or Brian Beveridge at bbeveridge -at- paradigmthree.com

Kent Lewandowski