Oct. 15, 2003
LOS ANGELES -- The South
Coast Air Quality Management District hosted its 15th
Annual Clean
Air Awards Ceremony today to honor individuals, organizations, communities and
businesses that have made significant contributions to cleaner air in the
Southland over the past year.
State Sen. Byron Sher, UCLA,
the city of Burbank, the environmental group Communities for a Better
Environment, a metal finishing trade association, the American Lung Association
of Los Angeles County, a former AQMD Board Member, a local business and a
physician were recognized at the event, held in downtown Los Angeles today at
the Millennium Biltmore Hotel.
“This year’s winners
represent the best and brightest in the effort to achieve clean air,” said
William Burke, Ed.D., chairman of AQMD’s Governing Board. “Yet we recognize
that for every winner, there have been literally thousands of efforts by
businesses, government agencies, community organizations, public interest
groups, clubs and individuals.”
AQMD’s 2003 Clean Air Award
winners are:
Leadership in
Government
State Sen. Byron Sher (D-Stanford) has authored many
landmark laws during his 23 years in the state Legislature, including the
California Clean Air Act. As chair of the Senate Environmental Quality
Committee, Sher continues his advocacy today for a cleaner environment. He
recently authored the Protect California Air Act of 2003
(SB 288) which seeks to maintain a strong air pollution program, known as New
Source Review, in California. He also recently authored SB 656 to accelerate
the reduction of particulate matter emissions from new and existing stationary,
mobile and area sources. Sher will leave the Legislature in 2004 as a result
of term limits.
For further information,
contact: Sen. Byron Sher, (916) 445-6747
Henry W. (“Hank”) Wedaa
of Yorba Linda has worked tirelessly in Southern California’s war against smog
during his 40 years of service as a member of the Yorba Linda City Council and
as a former AQMD Governing Board member. On AQMD’s Board, he strongly advocated
reducing vehicle emissions to attain federal health-based clean air standards
for the region. His work to help improve air quality continues today. Wedaa is
president of Valley Environmental Associates, which specializes in environmental
studies and air quality issues, including new technologies. He promotes the use
of alternative-fueled vehicles and currently serves as a director of Hydrogen
2000, a non-profit corporation dedicated to sharing information on and
encouraging use of hydrogen fuel.
For further information,
contact: Hank Wedaa, (714) 779-1604
Innovative
Transportation Projects
UCLA Transportation
Services has one of the nation’s
largest vanpool programs including a state-of-the-art parking management and
campus traffic monitoring system, on-site compressed natural gas-fueling, and a
campus shuttle service. The program has reduced more than 200,000 pounds of air
pollution annually. As past recipients of two Clean Air Awards, UCLA was
presented an award this year for its innovative Vehicle Donation Program
Partnership with Global Electric Motorcars, a subsidiary of DaimlerChrysler, for
the entire University of California system. This partnership helped to improve air quality through
innovative technology. UCLA continues to integrate alternative transportation
vehicles into its fleet. The program currently has a total of 258 clean air
vehicles.
For further information,
contact: Renee Fortier, director, UCLA Transportation Services, (310) 206 6317
The City of Burbank has an exceptionally comprehensive strategy that promotes good air quality and
conservation in the community. Elements of its strategy include:
- Enhanced Public
Transportation -- The city has two Metrolink stations and low-emission
transportation connecting commuters to the commuter train;
- Recycling Efforts --
The city’s recycling programs have successfully accomplished a diversion rate of
57 percent and handle up to 6,500 tons of recyclables a month. Other programs
available to residents include a mercury thermometer exchange, recycling of used
sneakers to make new athletic surfaces, a used motor oil drop off, and free
compost and worm bins;
- Conservation Programs
-- The Burbank Water and Power Department’s Energy Conservation Division has
distributed compact fluorescent light bulbs to all residents, offers rebates for
ultra-low-flush toilets and energy-efficient appliances and has a shade tree
program. The city offers grant funding up to $10,000 to dry cleaners in Burbank
that convert from machines using the toxic chemical perchloroethylene to
environmentally friendly cleaning processes; and
- Environmentally
Sensitive Zoning – A standard in the city’s zoning code prohibits any automotive
repair shop or related activity from operating within 150 feet of a residential
neighborhood. The provision helps mitigate air pollution impacts in residential
neighborhoods from auto repair shops.
For further
information, contact: City of Burbank Council Member Todd Campbell, (818)
238-5750
Robert
M. Zweig, M.D., Memorial Award
As director of the
Environmental Health Science Center at the USC School of Medicine, John
Peters, M.D., has conducted over the past decade one of the nation’s leading
long-term studies of air pollution and its impact on children’s health. The
results have influenced major air pollution control policy decisions to
safeguard children’s health. His groundbreaking research is expected to
continue to reveal more about the impacts of air pollution on human health.
The Robert M. Zweig, M.D.
Memorial Award is presented in honor of the Riverside physician who dedicated himself to eradicating smog and pursuing clean
air alternatives to improve air quality. As the second recipient of this award,
Dr. Peters’ genuine commitment to the medical concerns related to poor air
quality continues to build on the tradition of excellence and the legacy
established by Dr. Zweig.
For further information,
contact: Dr. John M. Peters, Director, Environmental Health Science Center, USC
School of Medicine, (323) 442-3272
Promotion of Good
Environmental Stewardship
Communities for a Better
Environment (CBE) and the Metal
Finishing Association of Southern California (MFASC) were the two major
organizations involved in the groundbreaking negotiated rulemaking of two of
AQMD’s toughest measures to significantly reduce toxic emissions from the
region’s metal plating facilities.
In May 2003, the AQMD
adopted Amended Rule 1469 – Hexavalent Chromium Emissions from Chrome Plating
and Chromic Acid Anodizing Operations, and Rule 1426 – Emissions from Metal
Finishing Operations. The constructive participation of MFASC and CBE was
instrumental in crafting rules that protect public health, while providing
flexibility to industry.
Negotiated rulemaking is a
voluntary process for drafting rules by bringing stakeholders together to reach
consensus on issues before a rule is formally proposed for adoption. CBE and
MFASC, which represented markedly different interests, worked cooperatively to
develop workable rules that included more stringent requirements for facilities
located near sensitive receptors such as residences, schools, and child care
centers.
CBE is an environmental
health and justice non-profit organization that promotes clean air and water and
the development of toxin-free communities.
For further information,
contact: Carlos Porras, executive director, Communities for a Better
Environment, (323) 826-9771
The Metal Finishing
Association of Southern California is a 200-member local affiliate of the
non-profit National Association of Metal Finishers. The local group represents
metal finishing firms in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas and was organized
to help develop and perpetuate the highest standards for metal finishing.
For further information,
contact: Dan Cunningham, executive director, Metal Finishing Association of
Southern California, (818) 367-0234
Advancement of Air Pollution
Technology
Anderson
Lithograph is a commercial printing business in Commerce that has been in business
for over 50 years. The company installed an innovative cogeneration system to
generate electricity and steam for use in the plant and to control emissions
from their printing presses. The system includes a permanent enclosure around
their printing operations to capture smog-forming volatile organic compound
(VOC) and particulate emissions from their printing presses. The innovative
process prevents VOC emissions from escaping the press room into personnel and
material handling areas of the plant. Ventilation air containing the VOC from
the press area is then mixed with ambient air and used in the cogeneration
system’s natural gas-fired turbine. The gas turbine burns and destroys up to
98.9 percent of the VOC emissions. This Anderson Lithograph system is an
outstanding example of controlling fugitive VOC emissions and using the
available energy in a cogeneration system.
For further information,
contact: Mark Tennant, president, Anderson Lithograph, (323) 727-0035
Public
Education on Air Quality Issues
For
the past seven years the American Lung Association of Los Angeles
County has delivered comprehensive programs on air quality and asthma issues
reaching approximately 7,500 school children with asthma and over 30,000 parents
and caregivers of children with asthma and school personnel. Through its “Whole
World of Care” approach, the association has implemented four programs focused
on protecting children’s lung health: The programs include:
- Healthy Homes for Little Lungs,
designed to help families with young asthmatics identify and reduce
environmental health risks in the home utilizing an assessment tool demonstrated
during home visits;
- Clinic-based environmental
workshops for primary-care providers to improve their level of asthma management
education and information;
- School-based asthma management and
prevention programs; and
- Community-based programs including
a residential summer camp for children with asthma.
For further
information, contact: Enrique Chiock, President/CEO, American Lung Association
of Los Angeles County, (323) 935-5864, ext. 235
AQMD
is the air pollution control agency for all of Orange County and major portions of Los
Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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