by Donald Wood
Last updated: 9:00 AM ET, Sat February 4, 2017
UPDATE: 10:55 a.m. ET 2/6/17
In response to the report from Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU), the Cruise Lines International Association Europe Secretary General Tom Fecke shared a statement rebutting the findings.
"The unsubstantiated claims about cruise ship air emissions are extremely misleading as no data on what particles were recorded is provided," Fecke said in a statement. "Ultra-fine particles can be both man-made or natural and for instance will include sea salt when tests are performed at sea. When the actual content of particles is not specified, it is not possible to compare air quality to other cases on land which have very different circumstances and no analysis of their breakdown for comparison."
"CLIA wishes to underline the commitment of its member companies to respect the regulations in force to protect the environment wherever they operate," Fecke continued. "Environmental sustainability is at the heart of their economic models. In fact, CLIA member cruise lines must meet existing national and international regulations on air emissions, but CLIA members often go further than what is required by regulation in taking protective measures on emissions."
The CLIA statement also went on to say the NABU findings came from a ship in Marseille, France. A study by APICE found that ship emissions in the area represent only five percent of fine particles suspended in the air, as compared to shore-based industry (35 percent), automobile traffic (29 percent) and district heating (13 percent).
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Original Text
A new report from a German environmental association claims that air pollution levels are much higher on cruise ships than the levels found in natural air settings.
According to The Telegraph, the Naturschutzbund Deutschland (NABU) is reporting that the concentration of harmful ultra-fine particles on cruise ships can be as much as 200 times higher than it would be in fresh air. The samples were collected by an undercover journalist for a French documentary television series.
The air quality measurements were taken from around the ship, but it was the sun deck and jogging lanes which were found to have the worst levels. The report has raised concerns among cruise passengers, as the World Health Organization said "inhaling ultra-fine particles is as dangerous as breathing asbestos."
"But of course this can vary along with the wind and weather conditions. So potentially every part of the ship can be affected significantly," NABU researcher Daniel Rieger said in a statement.
Rieger also mentioned how the German Lung Association has been warning cruise ship passengers for years against spending too much time on deck or inhaling the exhaust fumes from the vessels due to the possible implications for passengers with existing lung diseases.
In addition, there are also concerns being raised about the ultra-fine particles being spewed from cruise ship exhaust funnels causing health problems such as lung diseases, heart attacks, strokes and diabetes.
The report isn't without its detractors, though, including the German national director of the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) Helge Grammerstorf. He claims that more testing needs to be done before the validity of the study can be confirmed.
"We don't know these measurements," Grammerstorf said in a statement. "The claim is completely unsubstantiated."
In response, NABU manager Leif Miller said cruise lines "pay huge sums to improve entertainment and gastronomical services on board, but save as much as they can when it comes to environmental protection."
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