YORKTOWN, Va. - Marylandian -- The cruise industry is expanding in Virginia. This will bring more mega-ships carrying thousands of passengers with the associated water and air pollution on a scale unparalleled by other vessels. The increased pollution threatens public health, our coastal ecosystems, and Virginia's seafood industry. The citizen group, Protect-Virginia.org, has submitted a Petition for Rulemaking to Virginia's Department of Environmental Quality, requesting more stringent pollution standards for cruise ships. The petition provides evidence for the detrimental environmental and cultural impacts of the industry on port communities, and thus establishes the need for more protective regulation. The petition also documents effective cruise industry regulations implemented by other states, and in countries around the world, for consideration in Virginia.

For full details and text of the petition go to: https://protect-virginia.org/deq-petition

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About cruise ship pollution

• One of the smaller cruise ships (3000 passengers and crew) can generate 210,000 gallons of raw sewage; 1 million gallons of gray water (from sinks, showers, and washing machines); 130 gallons of hazardous materials; up to 8 tons of solid waste; and 25,000 gallons of oily water weekly.
• Virginia has a $1B seafood industry. Cruise ship pollution, including ocean acidification, directly impacts shellfish and other marine life.
• Fine particulate matter released in cruise ship exhaust can enter the bloodstream and brain. There is a strong correlation between nitrogen oxides and cancer. Ship pollution at ports can cause respiratory difficulties, disease, and premature deaths.
• The CO2 footprint for cruise ship passengers is eight times that of land-based vacationers.
• Most cruise ships burn low grade bunker fuel laden with sulfur oxides, heavy metals, and other toxicants. Pollutants from exhaust emissions are removed by ship scrubbers spraying seawater into smoke stacks and returning the acidic wash water laden with heavy metals etc. back into the environment, turning air pollution into a water pollution problem.
• Over 120 ports world-wide have banned cruise ships from dumping toxic scrubber waste.

It is time to Protect Virginia through regulation of the cruise ship industry.