June 11, 1999

• AQMD Board Acts to Control Wind-Blown Grit, Dust at Ports

In Other Action

• $1.6 million in Emission Reduction Programs Approved
• Environmental Justice Compact Approved
• Best Available Control Technology Guidelines Updated

In Other News

• Governor Signs Bill to Extend Clean Fuels Program to 2005
• Toxic Air Pollution Higher Inside Vehicles than Out
• Toxic Hot Spot Monitoring Wraps Up

AQMD BOARD ACTS TO CONTROL WIND-BLOWN DUST AT PORTS

Responding to community concerns, the AQMD Governing Board today unanimously approved new controls to reduce wind-blown particulates. AQMD studies found that dust from the outdoor storage and handling of petroleum coke, coal and sulfur contributed to unhealthful levels of fine particulate pollution at nearby worksites, residences and schools.

Chairman William A. Burke congratulated residents of the port area who brought the problem to the Governing Board’s attention during an AQMD town hall meeting, one of several of the Board’s Environmental Justice Initiatives. Burke also expressed praise for the companies that, in the face of strong community concerns, agreed to support the new controls.

"Repeated studies have shown that dust from these facilities contributes to unhealthful levels of fine particle pollution in the area around the ports and refineries," Burke said. "To protect the health of the residents, it’s essential that the facilities use the best pollution control technologies and practices."

Some 30 facilities, including 23 around the port area, are involved in transporting, handling and storing petroleum coke, coal and sulfur. Seven facilities store coke in open piles. Sixteen other facilities that handle coke store it in barns or other enclosures. Each year, the facilities handle some 6 million tons of petroleum coke, 4 million tons of coal and 1 million tons of sulfur.

AQMD estimates that these facilities emit 334 tons a year of fine particulate that can be inhaled into the lungs and 1,345 tons a year of larger particles that soil boats, buildings and other property downwind.

The amendments to AQMD’s Rule 1158 – Storage, Handling, and Transport of Coke, Coal and Sulfur are expected to cut annual emissions of fine particulate by 265 tons per year and the larger particles by 1,047 tons.

Inhalable particulate is known as PM10 because it consists of particles 10 microns or less in diameter, a fraction of the diameter of a human hair, which are easily inhaled into the lungs. Numerous medical studies have closely associated elevated levels of PM10 with increased deaths among people with respiratory or heart diseases. Studies say it also is responsible for increased hospital admissions and school absences due to respiratory problems and increased use of asthma medications.

Residents in the port area frequently have complained to AQMD about black dust. AQMD studies confirmed the presence of coke.

• A 1994 study conducted by AQMD showed a high level of petroleum coke in particulate samples collected downwind of the Port of Long Beach in response to complaints by residents of the International Towers condominiums at 700 East Ocean Blvd. in Long Beach.
• A 1996 study by Radian Corp. showed that 21% of the black fallout in samples taken at Long Beach Marina consisted of coke.
• Studies conducted by AQMD in 1997 and 1998 documented high levels of particulate, with the highest occurring at Hudson Elementary School in Long Beach. In fact, the Hudson School area had levels of particulate similar to the Riverside area, which has the worst particle pollution in that region.

The amendments to Rule 1158 are designed to bring local facilities in line with state-of-the-art handling practices.

AQMD’s amendments will require area facilities to:

• Enclose storage piles;
• Install covered, telescoping loading chutes;
• Construct containment structures for truck and rail car unloading operations;
• Begin using covered trucks for moving coke on roads;
• Enclose conveyors;
• Clean up adjacent roadways;
• Pave onsite roads to enable easy cleanup of spilled materials; and
• Use wind screens to reduce blowing dust and water sprayers to clean trucks.

In addition, the facilities will have to clean up any spilled materials. These requirements will be phased in over three-and-one-half years. In addition, the Board directed the staff to conduct monitoring in the port area to verify emission reductions and hold a community meeting on the progress in implementing the rule within 18 months.

AQMD estimates it will cost the facilities a total of $4.15 million a year to comply with these new requirements. Existing storage piles for sulfur and coal can remain in the open as long as adequate dust control equipment and practices are employed.

For further information, see the Board item, e-mail Carol Coy or call her at (909) 396-2434.

In Other Action

The Board:

• Funded $1.6 million worth of emissions reduction projects – auto scrapping, converting a tug boat to run on clean diesel, and a manufacturer’s conversion to a non-polluting process – through AQMD’s Air Quality Investment Program (e-mail Kathryn Higgins or call her at (909) 396-3309);
• Approved an environmental justice compact for voluntary consideration by other organizations, including local governments (e-mail LaRonda Bowen at (909) 396-3235); and
• Updated AQMD’s best available control technology guideline general policies and procedures for determining BACT and updated the guidelines for internal combustion engines, paint spray booths and other equipment (e-mail Jack Broadbent or call him at (909) 396-3789).

The Board approved all other items on the agenda except item 25, which was withdrawn.

In other news:

GOVERNOR SIGNS BILL TO EXTEND CLEAN FUELS PROGRAM TO 2005

Gov. Gray Davis has signed legislation to continue AQMD’s Clean Fuels Program for another five and a half years.

Senate Bill 98, authored by state Sen. Richard Alarcon, D-Sylmar, and co-sponsored by Sen. David G. Kelley, R-Idyllwild, extends the existing program until Jan. 1, 2005. Alarcon was a member of the AQMD Board and Los Angeles City Council until his election to state office in 1998.

Assemblyman Carl Washington, D-Paramount, also played a key role in the legislation, authoring a Clean Fuels Program bill that passed the Legislature in 1998 but was vetoed by Gov. Pete Wilson. Washington provided vital leadership this year in Assembly committees and on the Assembly floor.

The bill signed by the governor requires AQMD to administer a clean fuels program to promote the research and development of low- and zero-emission vehicles to help clean up the region’s air pollution. It authorizes AQMD to assess a $1 annual fee on motor vehicles registered in the agency’s four-county jurisdiction to fund the program.

Since its inception in 1990, AQMD’s Clean Fuels Program has played a critical role in the development of such advanced clean air technologies as fuel cells, electric vehicles and clean-fueled engines for trucks and off-road equipment. The program would have expired on Aug. 1. had this year’s legislation not been adopted.

Senate Bill 98 passed by a two-thirds majority in both houses of the Legislature, qualifying it as urgency legislation. It took effect immediately upon the Governor’s signing it on June 8.

TOXIC AIR POLLUTION HIGHER INSIDE VEHICLES THAN OUT

Exposure to some air pollutants and toxic compounds may be ten times higher inside vehicles than in ambient air, according to a recent study announced by AQMD and the California Air Resources Board.

The two-year, $440,000 study is the first ever to gather particulate data inside vehicles and the first to collect real-time information under a range of traffic and driving conditions.

Researchers found levels of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide were between two and ten times higher inside vehicles than at roadside or fixed monitoring stations. Researchers also found similar levels of toxic compounds such as benzene, 1,3-butadiene, ethyl benzene, toluene, xylene and MTBE, all considered toxic by the ARB and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The variations depended on the pollutant, the type of road and the level of traffic.

The study reported that as much as one-half of the pollutants inside test cars were emitted by the vehicle ahead. In general, levels of toxics and other pollutants are higher inside vehicles than in outdoor ambient air because cars are surrounded by emissions from other vehicles on freeways and streets.

According to the research data, motorists who used air conditioning systems and those who drove with their air vents open were exposed to similar amounts of pollution. Researchers learned that people who use carpool lanes were exposed to pollutant levels well below those measured in other traffic lanes, possibly because carpool lanes are less congested and further removed from the truck lanes.

Motorists can help reduce vehicle pollution by reporting smoking vehicles to 1-800-CUT-SMOG. For more information, see the news release, e-mail Mel Zeldin or call him at (909) 396-3058.)

TOXIC HOT SPOT MONITORING WRAPS UP

AQMD has concluded the field work for a major "toxic hot spot" monitoring program, accomplishing a key objective in the agency’s Environmental Justice Initiatives.

Air quality technicians planned to collect the last sample today from a mobile monitoring station in South El Monte, one of 14 locations chosen in low-income or ethnic minority residential areas that are downwind of major industrial or freeway sources of toxic air pollution.

Other locations monitored by mobile equipment included Hawthorne, Pacoima, Van Nuys, Anaheim, Montclair, Torrance, Costa Mesa, Boyle Heights, Corona, Norwalk, Riverside, Rialto and San Pedro.

AQMD also completed 10 months of monitoring at the end of March at 10 fixed sites across the Southland. Both monitoring efforts are part of the agency’s Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study II (MATES II).

MATES II is a key element of AQMD’s Environmental Justice Program and will provide information for AQMD’s Governing Board in deciding whether to strengthen the agency’s existing air toxic regulations.

A final report on MATES II will discuss the extent to which toxic air pollution has declined in the Southland, how toxic levels vary from community to community and whether hot spots exist. The report is expected to be presented to the Board this fall.

For more information, e-mail Mel Zeldin or call him at (909) 396-3058.

-#-