| May 1, 2009
The South Coast Air Quality Management
District has approved a contract with a UCLA team of olfactory experts for a
pilot program expected to enhance the agency’s ability to better identify
odor sources and potential mitigating factors in resolving odor complaints.
The agency’s current odor
complaint identification and investigation practices are effective but, in
some cases, odors are elusive. The goal is to enhance the agency’s current
program.
“Foul odors can
severely impact a person’s quality of life or even their health,” said
William A. Burke, Ed.D., AQMD’s Governing Board Chairman. “We are trying to
enhance the tools available to our inspectors to help identify and resolve
odor problems reported by residents.”
Mel Suffet, a professor of
Environmental Health Sciences (EHS) at the UCLA School of Public Health,
will lead the effort. Suffet, an expert on odor science, has developed an
odor identification device that defines air pollution problems in urban
areas.
The AQMD receives thousands
of complaints about odor from the public each year. Odors are the single
largest source of complaints reported by residents of the South Coast Air
Basin and comprise almost half of the total air quality complaints received
annually. Of these, the vast majority (approximately 85 %) are linked to an
identifiable source.
Facilities frequently
reported as suspected sources of odors include waste transfer and recycling
stations, wastewater treatment plants, landfills, composting operations,
petroleum operations, food and byproduct processes, factories, and
agricultural activities, such as livestock operations.
As part of the program,
Suffet will review the agency’s complaint database, which includes the
number and type of complaints reported, the types of facilities suspected or
confirmed as sources of the odor and other relevant information. Based on
current AQMD practices and procedures, he will provide recommendations to
enhance staff’s practices in odor chemistry, odor parameters and odor
identification techniques.
If the one-year pilot proves
successful, it could be expanded to include assisting community members to
identify and describe types of odors. With this knowledge, residents who
have odor complaints would be able to give a better report of an odor
incident, therefore allowing AQMD to more effectively determine the source.
AQMD can issue notices of
violations to facilities if it can document that a facility’s odors are
causing a nuisance for a considerable number of people living or working
nearby.
In other action today, the
AQMD Board:
·
Awarded $1.2
million to Johnson Matthey Inc. to cosponsor the development and
demonstration of selective catalytic regenerating technology on heavy-duty
diesel trucks to reduce nitrogen oxide and particulate emissions. The
technology will be demonstrated on approximately 43 trucks, model years 1999
through 2002, from at least four fleets in the Southland. AQMD received a
$900,000 grant award from U.S. EPA’s Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies
Program to help fund this project;
·
Appointed M.
Michael Glovsky, M.D., to fill the medical member position on the AQMD
Hearing Board. Dr. Glovsky will replace Joseph D. Auerbach, M.D., who
resigned in December 2008 after serving more than 16 years on the hearing
board; and
·
Amended Rule
1171 – Solvent Cleaning Operations and Rule 1122 – Solvent Degreasers to
extend the compliance date one year to 2010 for certain solvents used in the
clean-up of screen printing equipment, as well as provide an exemption for
certain specialized, low-usage solvents. Today’s action will provide
additional time for testing of new, lower-polluting formulations that can
perform well and satisfy cleaning requirements.
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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