4 PM today – Bell Gardens CA – Youth Bike Tour of I-710 South Freeway Project to Highlight Health Threat Causing High Levels of Asthma, Lung Cancer & Heart Disease

In support of the Moving Forward Network’s “Zero” Campaign, and as part of their effort to stop diesel exhaust pollution from port trucks, East Yard Communities for Social Justice (EYCEJ) and THE Impact project are conducting a Youth Bike Tour of I-710 South Freeway Project today at 4 pm.

To highlight the health threats of diesel exhaust, including asthma, lung cancer & heart disease, they will work with USC experts to conduct air quality monitoring along the bike route.

The tour will end at South Gate Municipal Auditorium, the location of today’s 710 Freeway Project Committee meeting, which participants are invited to attend.

For more information, email zjuarez@eycej.org


WHEN:    Thursday July 30th, 2015   4pm

WHERE:   Start at Bell Gardens High School, 6119 Agra St., Bell Gardens 90201
                  End at South Gate Municipal Auditorium, 4900 Southern Ave., South Gate 90280
                   
East Yards Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) and The Impact Project will conduct a bicycle tour along the toxic LA River/710 Freeway corridor where diesel exhaust from trucks serving the nation’s largest port complex causes very high rates of asthma, lung cancer, heart disease and neurological disorders for area residents . The 710/ LA River highway strip is one of the busiest freight routes in the country as well as home to rail yards, warehouses, and diesel truck traffic. One area doctor who treats patients at the emergency room of a nearby hospital calls it the “diesel death zone.”

Tour participants will collect air samples along the bike route to analyze, with assistance from experts at the University of Southern California (USC), their toxic ultra-fine air particle content. Participants will then attend the scheduled meeting of the 710 Corridor Project’s policy makers to demand inclusion of a Zero Emissions Freight Corridor as part of its planned $6 billion plan.​

The organization leading the effort, EYCEJ, is part of the national Moving Forward Network (MFN), an alliance of neighborhood, labor, public health and environmental organizations that is launching a campaign calling on the US Environmental Protection Agency to require ports and freight facilities to meet clean air standards so that their deadly diesel emissions are eliminated. Zero emissions technology exists that make this possible.

#ZeroEmissionsNow