Editing Long Beach, California (section)

====Pollution====
[[File:LongBeach-oilfield-1920.jpg|left|thumb|Oil field in Long Beach, 1920]]
Long Beach suffers from some of the worst air pollution in the entire [[United States]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://science.time.com/2013/11/05/the-10-most-polluted-cities-in-america/slide/4-los-angeles-long-beach-riverside-ca/|title=#4 (tie): Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA - The 10 Most Polluted Cities in America - TIME.com|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|date=November 5, 2013|access-date=February 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140301172743/http://science.time.com/2013/11/05/the-10-most-polluted-cities-in-america/slide/4-los-angeles-long-beach-riverside-ca/|archive-date=March 1, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> Most of the city is in proximity to the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, and the prevailing westerly-to-west-south-westerly winds bring a large portion of the twin ports' air pollution directly into Long Beach before dispersing it northward then eastward.<ref name="lbds.info">{{cite web| url=http://www.lbds.info/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2437| title=City of Long Beach General plan, Air Quality Element| work=City of Long Beach website| access-date=February 4, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110504051623/http://www.lbds.info/civica/filebank/blobdload.asp?BlobID=2437| archive-date=May 4, 2011| url-status=live}}</ref> Heavy pollution sources at the ports include the ships themselves, which burn high-sulfur, high-soot-producing [[bunker fuel]] to maintain internal electrical power while docked, as well as heavy diesel pollution from [[drayage]] trucks at the ports, and short-haul tractor-trailer trucks ferrying cargo from the ports to inland warehousing, rail yards, and shipping centers. Long-term average levels of toxic air pollutants (and the corresponding [[carcinogenic]] risk they create) can be two to three times higher in and around Long Beach, and in downwind areas to the east, than in other parts of the Los Angeles metropolitan area, such as the [[Westside (Los Angeles County)|Westside]], [[San Fernando Valley]], or [[San Gabriel Valley]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.aqmd.gov/prdas/matesIII/matesIII.html| title=Multiple Airborne Toxics Exposure Study (MATES III)| work=South Coast Air Quality Management District website| access-date=February 4, 2011| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110129223223/http://aqmd.gov/prdas/matesIII/matesIII.html| archive-date=January 29, 2011| df=mdy-all}}</ref> While overall regional pollution in the Los Angeles metropolitan area has declined in the last decade, pollution levels remain dangerously high in much of Long Beach due to the port pollution, with diesel exhaust from ships, trains, and trucks as the largest sources.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-aqmd5jan05,0,1913116.story |title=Cancer risk from toxic air drops by 17% in Southland |author=Janet Wilson, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer |date=January 5, 2008 |work=Los Angeles Times newspaper |publisher=[[Tribune Company]] |access-date=March 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120811212537/http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-aqmd5jan05,0,1913116.story |archive-date=August 11, 2012 |url-status=live }}</ref>[[File:Birds eye of longbeach shot by Supermillion VIsuals.jpg|thumb|Panoramic view of Long Beach]]Additionally, Long Beach is directly downwind of several of the [[South Bay, Los Angeles|South Bay]] [[oil refineries]]. Any refinery process or chemical upset that results in the atmospheric release of refinery by-products (commonly [[sulfur dioxide]])<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.aqmd.gov/comply/R1118_main.htm| title=SCAQMD Rule 1118| work=[[SCAQMD]] website| access-date=March 29, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120505171346/http://aqmd.gov/comply/R1118_main.htm| archive-date=May 5, 2012| df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/2004/bs9_03_04.html| title=SCAQMD News: AQMD TO SEEK EMISSION REDUCTIONS FROM REFINERY FLARES| work=[[SCAQMD]] website| access-date=March 29, 2012| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012060051/http://www.aqmd.gov/news1/2004/bs9_03_04.html| archive-date=October 12, 2012| df=mdy-all}}</ref> will usually impact air quality in Long Beach due to the west-south-westerly prevailing wind.<ref name="lbds.info" />

Similarly, the water quality in the Long Beach portion of [[San Pedro Bay (California)|San Pedro Bay]], which is enclosed by the [[San Pedro Breakwater|Federal Breakwater]], commonly ranks among the poorest on the entire West Coast during rainy periods. Long Beach beaches average a D or F grade on beach water quality during rainy periods in the ''Beach Report Card'' published by [[Heal the Bay]].<ref name="Heal the Bay">{{cite web| url=http://brc.healthebay.org/?st=CA&f=1&tabid=2| title=Beach Report Card for California| work=Heal the Bay website| access-date=February 4, 2011| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110514225904/http://brc.healthebay.org/?st=CA&f=1&tabid=2| archive-date=May 14, 2011| url-status=live}}</ref> However, during dry periods the water may have an A or B rating in the same reports. The [[Los Angeles River]] discharges directly into the Long Beach side of San Pedro Bay, meaning a large portion of all the [[urban runoff]] from the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area pours directly into the harbor water. This runoff contains most of the debris, garbage, chemical pollutants, and biological pathogens washed into storm drains in every upstream city each time it rains. Because the breakwater prevents [[Tidal currents|tidal flushing]] and [[wave action]], these pollutants build up in the harbor. The water enclosed by the breakwater, along most of the city's beaches, can be subject to [[red tide]]s due to this stagnation as well. Because of these factors, the water in Long Beach is sometimes unsafe for swimming, up to weeks each year.<ref name="Heal the Bay" />