Co-hosts and experts from Pacific Environment, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council and Alaska Community Action on Toxics held an hour-long webinar on scrubber pollution and what can be done to end it, followed by a Q&A session. Full webinar can be viewed here.

Panelists included: Jim Gamble, Senior Director, Arctic Program, Pacific Environment; Cynthia Petersen, Tribal President and Interim Executive Director for the Yakutat Tlingit Tribe; Vivian Mork, a Tlingit traditional foods harvester and harvesting teacher; Eric Jordan, fisherman and conservationist; and Elise Sturrup, Research, ICCT Marine Program team. (Full bios can be found here.)

Panelists explained what exhaust gas scrubbers are and how they work, as well as why the use of scrubbers has proliferated over the years. Additionally they shared their perspectives of the impacts of cruise ships and resulting pollution, illustrating the value of and threats to traditional homelands, habitat and food systems.

A growing body of scientific work and studies show that Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems — otherwise known as scrubbers — are detrimental to the marine environment, wildlife and people’s health. On the surface, having scrubbers on ships might sound like a good thing — a way to take pollution from burning fossil fuels out of the air — but scrubbers transfer enormous amounts of extremely toxic pollution from the air and, instead, dump it into our oceans.

Statements from panelists:
“The proliferation of scrubbers is devastating our oceans and the health of our wildlife,” said James Gamble, Senior Director, Arctic Program, Pacific Environment. “Pacific Environment just released a new paper that shows the growing evidence of research that scrubbers are bad for the environment, for wildlife and for our ocean health. The Biden and Harris administration has an opportunity to clean up shipping and ban the use of scrubbers now.”

“Exhaust gas scrubber pollution is unnecessary and irresponsible, “ said co-host Aaron Brakel, Clean Water Campaigns Manager, Southeast Alaska Conservation Council. “This waste should never be generated – readily available cleaner fuel can be used instead. Burning dirty heavy bunker fuel and dumping unnecessarily generated scrubber waste into Alaska and nearby waters has got to stop.”

Vivian Mork, a Tlingit teacher of traditional foods and traditional harvesting says, “Haa atx̱aayi haa ḵusteeyíx̱ sitee, our food is our Tlingit way of life. These waters have to be protected to protect the people and the animals that live here. In our culture we donʼt separate ourselves from these things so that what happens to these waters happens to us. Haa daséigux̱ héen, water is life.”
Source: Pacific Environment