non-toxic truck stop: spring 2019
Advisor: Andrew Liles
Project Location: Memphis, TN
Wherever semi-trucks are, pollution follows. As truck shipping continues to expand in the United States it is important to think about the critical negative externality for which many shipping companies do not compensate: air pollution. Air pollution from shipping primarily derivates from diesel truck exhaust. Groups of trucks gathered in typical numbers at rest stops, depots, and stations generate enough pollution to qualify as EPA Hot Spots. An EPA hotspot is a location where air pollutant concentrations are elevated and may expose people to increased risk of adverse health effects. This concentrated air pollution poses health risks to truck drivers as well as all who live nearby.
The truck stop in this proposal, as well as many other truck stops across the U.S., resides in an industrial-zoned area where large swathes of land are inexpensive. This means that truck drivers are already disproportionately exposed to air pollutants wherever they stop. In addition, truck drivers are paid by the mile they drive, not by the hour they work. Thus, when truck drivers stop, they are exposed to heavily polluted air and do not receive compensation for the hazard. Health complications ensue. The turnover rate for truck drivers is now at over 90%.
French Fort, a historically and presently black community, is immediately adjacent to this truck stop as well as several oil refineries that emit carcinogenic air pollutants. In an attempt to minimize its own impact as well as the impacts of those sites around it, the truck stop recognizes and acts upon the right of everyone to clean and safe air.
As seen in the Xian Filtration tower in China, the design of this truck stop utilizes the stack effect to help clean the air around the truck stop. Through the stack effect, hot exhaust from cars and trucks in the below-ground parking garage is pulled through a central ventilation tower. Scrubbers clean the air and vent from the top of the 120’ tall tower, thus acting as a buffer between the adjacent oil refineries and residential areas.
