ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED OAKLAND BULK AND OVERSIZED TERMINAL

The report argues that the proposed Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal (OBOT) poses significant risks to public health, water security, and local ecosystems, particularly if used to export coal. The author highlights that current design plans are conceptual and lack enforceable controls for dust and emissions. Key concerns include the consumption of 79.2 million gallons of water annually for dust control during a record drought, the release of up to 18,300 tons of coal dust per year within California from uncovered rail cars, and increased cancer risks from diesel particulate matter in West Oakland. Additionally, the report notes that the project's scale would cause significant traffic congestion at 55 at-grade rail crossings and create substantial noise pollution. The author concludes that these impacts were not addressed in the project's CEQA review.

• The proposed terminal would require approximately 79.2 million gallons of water annually for dust control if it handles 9.9 million tons of coal per year, which the author notes could supply over 3,000 Oakland residents.
• If coal is transported in uncovered rail cars from Utah, up to 68,300 tons of coal dust could be emitted annually, with approximately 18,200 tons released within California in communities such as Sacramento, Davis, Richmond, Berkeley, Emeryville, and Oakland.
• The use of diesel-fueled locomotives and ship engines will increase emissions of diesel particulate matter (DPM), a carcinogen linked to significant cancer risks for populations up to 2 miles from the facility, particularly in West Oakland.
• The project would likely cause significant traffic disruptions at 55 at-grade rail crossings between Benicia and the terminal, with 1.3-mile-long unit trains potentially blocking crossings for up to an hour daily.
• Coal dust emissions pose severe risks to aquatic ecosystems, including 100% mortality for young salmon and trout after 0.5 to 2.5 hours of exposure to coal washings.
• The author asserts that the project's environmental impacts, including water use, coal dust, and diesel emissions, were not anticipated in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review.

APA

Fox, P. (2015). ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED OAKLAND BULK AND OVERSIZED TERMINAL. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/oakland-exhb-fox-report-oakland-coal-terminal_9-21-15.pdf

Chicago

Fox, Phyllis. ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED OAKLAND BULK AND OVERSIZED TERMINAL. Earthjustice, 2015. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/oakland-exhb-fox-report-oakland-coal-terminal_9-21-15.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fox |first1=Phyllis |title=ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED OAKLAND BULK AND OVERSIZED TERMINAL |publisher=Earthjustice |date=21 September 2015 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/oakland-exhb-fox-report-oakland-coal-terminal_9-21-15.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fox2015environmental, author = {Fox, Phyllis}, title = {{ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED OAKLAND BULK AND OVERSIZED TERMINAL}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2015}, month = sep, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/oakland-exhb-fox-report-oakland-coal-terminal_9-21-15.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }