A study finds that while land vehicles are cutting emissions, seafaring vessels are spewing sulfur oxide ‘virtually unchecked.’

By Janet Wilson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

Ocean-going vessels produce greater quantities of sulfur oxide air pollutants than all the world’s cars, trucks and buses combined, according to a study released Thursday.

The report by the International Council on Clean Transportation calls for international regulators to move aggressively to curb emissions from “bunker fuel” used by freight vessels that contains an average 27,000 parts per million of sulfur. U.S. standards for diesel trucks and other vehicles limit sulfur fuels to just 15 parts per million to protect public health. One kind of sulfur oxide, sulfur dioxide, can quickly kill if too much is inhaled rapidly. Chronic exposure to lower levels has been linked to respiratory problems. ([1] Full Story)
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Note by folc.ca: The article constitutes somewhat shoddy journalism. Diesel locomotives use bunker fuel, too.