Dozens of people wore surgical masks to a Port of Seattle meeting to protest diesel tractor trailers being parked in residential sections of Georgetown, South Park and White Center.

The protest was staged by the Washington Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now at a Sept. 6 public meeting sponsored by the Port at South Seattle Community College's Duwamish campus in Georgetown. The meeting was intended for the public to comment on a proposal crafted among the ports of Seattle, Tacoma and Vancouver, B.C. to reduce air pollution emitted from each city's working waterfront.

While port officials are addressing various contaminants from all kinds of vessels and vehicles, the people participating in the surgical mask protest zeroed in on big commercial trucks routinely parking in residential neighborhoods. The masks were theatrically appropriate props because Port of Seattle officials estimate 78 percent of the public health risk posed by seaport pollution comes from diesel particulates in the air, said Wayne Grotheer, head of the Port of Seattle's environmental section. And most 18-wheel tractor trailers run on diesel.

Cathy Hendrickson recently counted 84 big rigs parked on four square blocks of Georgetown. She showed a picture of an 18-wheel tractor trailer rig she said is parked in front of her house every day of the year.

Not only do commercial trucks take up much of the neighborhood's curbside parking, they also break up the street pavement and damage trees planted near streets, she said. The length and size of tractor trailers block views and make driving more dangerous on neighborhood streets, Hendrickson added.

The Port of Seattle ought to provide parking for big, commercial trucks, Hendrickson said.

White Center resident Barbara Liberace said her next-door neighbor starts his truck every morning close by her bedroom.

"I inhale diesel exhaust every morning between 4 and 5 a.m., she said tearfully.

South Park resident Mercedes Mota said the Port of Seattle is the landlord for many trucking companies and it should regulate them more effectively.

"Why are trucks on our (residential) streets during rush hour?" she asked.

Resident Mark Krylov said he called a trucking company to ask that its trucks use a different route through Georgetown that doesn't include his neighborhood. The company informed him it is using the shortest, cheapest route, even if it means going through residential areas, Krylov said.

The last time an air pollution study was done in Georgetown was 2003, so it's time for a new study, said Lucille Rossmeyer.

"We're poisonin' them in Georgetown," she said. "We're poisonin' them in Delridge."

Debi Wagner used to live in Georgetown but she moved her family elsewhere. The health of her children and even her pets improved when they left, she said.

Justin MacGrath participates in track events at school but he won't run in his South Park neighborhood because his asthma is made worse by truck exhaust there.

Burien resident Jenon Lucerne is a registered nurse who has seen an increase in the local rate of premature births and birth defects.

After a recent rain, Melvin Kelley walked outside his Georgetown house and was driven back inside by a suffocating diesel smell in the air. He told of diesel soot settling on everything in the neighborhood.

"Look deeper into the human impact," Kelley said. "That's more important."

According to Seattle city ordinances, it is illegal to park a truck or trailer over 80 inches wide on city streets from midnight to 6 a.m. in areas zoned single-family residential. However trucks are allowed to park overnight on city streets in areas zoned for manufacturing or industrial use. Some sections of South Park and Georgetown are zoned for industrial use.

After public comments were taken, Dennis McLerran from the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency acknowledged that diesel exhaust is a problem and that a plan is being developed as to how to "reduce diesel risk." The proposal is scheduled for completion this fall.

Tim St. Clair can be reached at timstc@robinsonnews.com or (206) 932-0300.