Air Quality & Emissions¶
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Houston-Galveston Emissions Analysis¶
The air quality analysis for Houston-Galveston examines emissions from all port-related sources — ocean-going vessels at berth, harbor craft, cargo handling equipment, and heavy-duty trucks — and their impact on ambient air quality across the 52-mile Houston Ship Channel corridor.
The Tanker Dominance Problem
Tankers account for approximately 80% of deep-draft vessel traffic at Port Houston — a fleet composition that makes shore power impractical and emissions capture the only viable at-berth control technology. Port Houston's 2019 emissions inventory confirmed that tanker boiler emissions at berth are the single largest controllable vessel emission source.
Data Sources¶
| Source | Publisher | Data Provided | Access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Port Houston 2019 Goods Movement Emissions Inventory | Port Houston | Comprehensive port-wide emissions by source category | Published December 2021 |
| ICCT Port Emissions Screening | ICCT | Vessel-level at-berth emission estimates | theicct.org |
| AirNow / AQS | EPA | Real-time and historical PM2.5, NOx, ozone from regulatory monitors | aqs.epa.gov |
| National Emissions Inventory | EPA | Port-area emissions from mobile and stationary sources | epa.gov/air-emissions-inventories |
| Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) | EPA | Facility-level chemical releases — 500+ facilities in Harris County | epa.gov/toxics-release-inventory-tri-program |
| AIS Vessel Data | MarineCadastre | Vessel position reports for call identification and dwell time | marinecadastre.gov |
Full Assessment Available
The complete analysis for this section — including census-tract-level health quantification, monetized health damages, environmental justice scoring, and scenario modeling — is available through our research services.
See the full methodology in action: Our Duluth-Superior assessment and New York/New Jersey assessment demonstrate the complete analytical depth available for every port on this site.
Contact us to discuss a site-specific assessment for this port community: research@porthealthwatch.org