Jan. 25, 2005
The Southland’s air quality agency is sponsoring its first-ever “smoke
school” today for local community leaders, residents and business
representatives to teach them techniques used to identify potential visible
air pollution emissions violations in their communities and at their
facilities.
“Visible emissions, particularly smoke, can pose a health hazard as well
as a nuisance to affected communities,” said Barry Wallerstein, executive
officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
“AQMD’s first-ever community visible emission evaluation training program
is an example of our commitment to further involve all residents in the
fight for clean air,” he said.
About two dozen invited participants will take part in today’s five-hour
class at AQMD headquarters in Diamond Bar. California Air Resources Board
staff will conduct the class which includes a half-day of classroom
instruction and an afternoon field training exercise using a smoke
generator, weather permitting. In addition to community and environmental
justice groups, representatives of some of the facilities regulated by AQMD
also will attend the class to better understand AQMD’s visible emissions
enforcement program.
The class is intended to provide participants with an overview of air
pollution violations and techniques used by AQMD field compliance staff when
evaluating visible emissions from sources in the Southland. Attendees will
learn about common visible emissions they may encounter in their community,
the methods used to evaluate visible air pollution violations and
information on air pollution laws. They will also learn how to
differentiate water vapor, which is sometimes mistaken for air pollution,
from smoke.
While graduates from the training program will not be able to issue
visible emission violations – only AQMD inspectors can do so – they will
have a better understanding of what constitutes a potential visible emission
violation in their community. AQMD intends to repeat the class periodically
for other interested residents.
During the past three years the AQMD has received more than 6,700
complaints of potential visible emission violations under the agency’s Rule
401 – Visible Emissions.
Rule 401, one of the AQMD’s oldest and most fundamental air pollution
regulations, prohibits any single source from emitting a specified visible
emissions density (opacity) for more than three minutes in one hour.
Opacity is measured against a Ringelmann Chart, a system established in the
1800s to grade smoke density.
Community visible emission evaluation training is being offered as part
of the AQMD’s recently expanded Environmental Justice Initiatives aimed at
enhancing community involvement. AQMD first launched its Environmental
Justice Initiatives in 1997 to ensure environmental equity in communities
throughout the four-county area.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
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