New Law Requires Cover Over Coke Piles

LONG BEACH — A new law will require that open piles of petroleum coke in Long Beach and San Pedro be covered by the end of the year to control dust pollution.

Gov. Gray Davis this week signed the bill requiring most petroleum coke piles and vehicles transporting coke to be covered.

Petroleum coke is a coal-like byproduct of the oil refining process. Those who live near coke-producing facilities have complained of black dust from the piles.

Officials of a major coal and coke terminal at the Port of Los Angeles had said installing roofs over the coke piles would be too costly, and that dust was being controlled by sprinkler systems and other devices.

The bill’s sponsor, Assemblyman Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) called the law “a victory for Harbor Area residents who have been living with this problem for far much too long.”