Rockland woman to attend clean-air conference

ROCKLAND – A leader of the residents group opposing diesel locomotive idling in downtown Rockland has been invited to take part in an international environmental conference in California.

Sandra Schramm of Clean Air for Rockland will participate Nov. 30 and Dec. 1 in the “Moving Forward” conference, sponsored by a health and community life collaboration based in Carson, Calif.

After reading about Schramm’s work concerning alleged adverse effects from Maine Eastern Railroad operations on its neighborhood, a representative of Long Beach Alliance for Children with Asthma invited Schramm to attend the conference and offered to pay her expenses for the trip.

The conference provides information on health research related to air pollution. Participants will work together developing strategies for preventing and reducing negative health effects.

Objectives of the conference include sharing results from scientific studies on the health effects of air pollution on children and the elderly.

“They will share information on strategies for reducing exposure to diesel exhaust, ultrafine particles and other air pollutants,” Schramm said.

The conference will provide a forum to discuss policy implications of increased international trade and goods movement on community health and worker safety, and on air quality, jobs, the economy, traffic and community life, Schramm added.

More than 500 people from the United States, China and other countries have registered for the conference.

In 2002, the New England Diesel Initiative was established with the goal of reducing health risks and global warming from diesel particulate matter emissions, Schramm said.

“Exposure to diesel exhaust can cause serious cardiovascular and respiratory problems, including asthma, heart disease and lung cancer,” she said.

“I wish someone had attended a conference like this one before the decision was made in 2004 to bring a train into a residential neighborhood after so many years,” said Schramm, who plans to share what she learns from the conference with those in Rockland who are concerned about the future of rail in a populated downtown area.