Division of Air Quality Monitoring and Quality Assurance

Cruise Ship Impacts - Juneau Air Quality Monitoring Project

2019 Cruise Ship Season Study

The DEC Division of Air Quality conducted a study from 4/19/2019 to 10/7/2019 in the downtown Juneau area to assess air quality impacts from the cruise ship industry. The study was initiated to address increasing public complaints regarding cruise ship emissions over the previous two years.

Key Points from the 2019 Study

• Interactive PM_2.5 Data Map
• Based on the particulate matter measurements from the PA monitors, the air quality in Juneau during the study period can be considered as “Good” using the EPA Air Quality Index (AQI) classifications, with only a few days during wildfire smoke events considered as “Moderate” to “Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups”.
• While there is strong evidence cruise ships had short term impacts on air quality in downtown Juneau, there is no evidence to suggest the cruise ship industry air quality impacts in Juneau during the 2019 cruise ship season would have led to 24-hour PM_2.5 violations of the NAAQS.
• During the six-month study, emissions events from cruise ships were typically brief and only lasted one or two hours. Short term emissions plumes from cruise ships were detected by the monitors in the form of widespread elevated PM2.5 concentrations affecting multiple sites simultaneously. Slash burning, outdoor food vendors, and residential activities also had noticeable short-term impacts on air quality.
• Early in the 2019 cruise season, cruise line companies worked together to reduce their impact on local air quality. Two of the strategies used for reducing emissions were reducing idle times in the harbor and switching to a low sulfur marine fuel while in port. While it is difficult to compare Juneau’s 2019 cruise ship related air quality impacts to previous year’s impacts as no monitoring data exists for 2018, the 2019 season had fewer complaints that the previous two years.
• The data collected did not identify a single maximum impact site but indicated that various parts of the downtown Juneau were impacted simultaneously by emission plumes, depending on weather conditions.
• DEC is planning follow up monitoring in 2020.

Documents

Date	Title and Document Download
1/29/2019	Presentation to Juneau Commission on Sustainability (PDF 4.4M)
4/1/2019	2019 Season Sampling Plan (PDF 306K)
5/1/2019	2019 Season Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) (PDF 808K)
6/1/2020	2019 Cruise Ship Study Summary Report (PDF 2.7M)
6/1/2021	Juneau Cruise Ship Study Final Report 2019 (PDF 2.7M)

Contact Us

• Barbara Trost
• Program Manager, Air Monitoring & Quality Assurance
• Anchorage, AK
• Phone: 907-269-6249