About¶
About Port Health Watch¶
Port Health Watch is a policy research platform that quantifies the health costs of port pollution in American communities. We produce site-specific health impact assessments using peer-reviewed methodology and primary-source data, translating emissions data into the monetized health outcomes that drive regulatory action and funding decisions.
This project exists because a critical gap separates what we know about port emissions and what communities can prove. The science linking PM2.5 exposure to premature death is settled. The data on who lives near ports — and what they earn, and what diseases they carry — is public. But no standardized, accessible framework connects these data streams into the dollar figures that move policymakers, port commissioners, and grant reviewers. Port Health Watch builds that bridge.
The Founder¶
Nathan Pelkey is the founder of EcoAsset Lab LLC, the parent company of Port Health Watch. He also operates Civil Ledger Lab, a civic transparency research initiative spanning multiple policy domains.
His research methodology is primary-source: trace the money, read the filings, cross-reference the permits, and surface the structural contradictions that insulate polluters from accountability. In the port context, that means connecting EPA emissions data, Census demographics, CDC health surveillance, and state regulatory records into a single evidence chain — one that reveals the gap between known health costs and the absence of financial frameworks to address them.
Nathan is based in Minnesota.
What We're Building¶
Port Health Watch is developing two environmental market frameworks that don't yet exist. Neither has been built before — and both require methodology development, regulatory engagement, and pilot validation before they can generate tradable instruments.
Air Quality Health Units (AQHUs) — a proposed tradable health benefit asset class for port pollution reduction, intended for submission to Verra's SD VISta program. One AQHU would represent one Disability-Adjusted Life Year (DALY) avoided through verified reduction in port-attributable air pollution exposure. The methodology is in active development; the MERC coal terminal closure provides the first natural experiment for empirical validation.
Maritime At-Berth Carbon Capture Methodology — a proposed Verra VCS methodology module for at-berth carbon capture using barge-mounted systems with calcium looping mineralization. This technology is commercially deployed in California and the UK but is currently ineligible for carbon credit issuance under any existing Verra methodology. The module would need to extend VM0049 or establish a new methodology pathway.
Methodology Development as a Service
These frameworks are being built in the open, but building them requires resources. If your organization — port authority, environmental market participant, capture technology operator, or public health agency — would benefit from an accredited methodology that monetizes port health improvements or maritime carbon capture, we are seeking development partners and clients to co-fund the methodology work. Contact us to discuss engagement options, or see our Services page for current offerings.
Organizational Structure¶
Port Health Watch is operated by EcoAsset Lab LLC, a Wisconsin-registered company that develops financial frameworks for environmental and climate assets.
Contact¶
Email: research@porthealthwatch.org
For research partnerships, health impact assessment inquiries, or methodology development engagement.
License¶
The research and analysis on this site is published for public benefit. Journalists, researchers, and advocacy organizations are encouraged to cite and build upon our work with attribution.