About Us | Contact Us | Site Map

• Newsroom
  • News Archives
  • Newsletters
• Calendar
• Library

Newsletter Main Page

CLEAN AIR MATTERS

Summer 2002 Edition

In this issue:

• Toxic air pollutants are significant problem, says new agency study
• Agency's partners contribute to reducing summertime smog
• Survey shows people care about clean air
• Commentary: Pondering a cultural mystery
• FY2002 accomplishments
  • Launched new programs, expanded partnerships, won awards
• FY2003 plans
  • Adding new initiatives, planning for the future, improving what we do now
• Coffee, beer and doughnuts can cause air pollution side-effects
• Air Operating Permits now on Web

 

Toxic air pollutants are significant problem, says new agency study

The cancer risk from toxic outdoor-air pollutants is a significant problem for our region, according to recent groundbreaking research by the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and its partners, the state Department of Ecology, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Washington State University.

The draft Final Puget Sound Air Toxics Evaluation released May 16 shows that about 70 percent of the cancer risk comes from diesel soot. Most of the remaining risk comes from wood smoke and gasoline exhaust.

The study confirms that two of the Clean Air Agency's key programs — Diesel Solutions and wood-smoke education — are the right places to focus our resources. Encouraging purchase of low-emission cars such as electric-gasoline hybrids also will reduce key air toxics.

Cancer risk is significant

"We are not surprised that the air toxics are there — we are surprised that the risks are so significant," said Dennis McLerran,

 

"We are not surprised that the air toxics are there — we are surprised that the risks are so significant," said Dennis McLerran, agency executive director. The data indicate the cancer risk from outdoor air toxics could be as high as about 700 in a million. In other words, for a population of about one million, 700 additional cancer cases could occur over a 70-year period, or about 10 additional cases per year.For comparison, the goal for the state's hazardous-waste cleanup program is a cancer risk of about one in a million.

EPA's National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) indicates that cancer risks in the Puget Sound region are in the top five percent in the nation, similar to other major urban areas. EPA released the study May 31.

The non-cancer health effects of fine particles are also very significant, so we are pursuing strategies that reduce both air toxics and fine particles (see article on FY2003 Plans).

Study ranks health effects for first time

"This is the first time we've been able to look at a relatively large group of toxic air pollutants, analyze the cumulative health effects and then rank the pollutants by their effect on people's health. Before, researchers were limited to a few pollutants in very small areas. It's also the first time that any toxic pollutants in outdoor air have been systematically measured across the Seattle area," said lead author Leslie Stanton, a toxicologist and air resources specialist for the Clean Air Agency.

Stanton and co-author Naydene Maykut, agency senior scientist, used data from previous studies by the state Department of Ecology and the University of Washington and the continuing NATA study.

EPA model will save money

Ecology's monitoring data compares well to results from a new EPA computer model. The computer model uses readily available data such as vehicle usage, population, and numbers and types of businesses.

"This analysis is exciting because it builds confidence in the model, and we'll save money using it," said Stanton. "Modeling is much less expensive than operating monitoring sites."

Air toxics is an emerging issue

"The health risks from air toxics are higher than was previously understood," said McLerran. "A large body of health research is developing that shows much more needs to be done to reduce exposure to toxics."

"The good news is that this is a fixable problem," he added. "We know what we need to do to address it and have begun that work. We need a major investment in cleaner fuels, diesel retrofits and cleaner school buses, and we need to continue our work to reduce exposure to wood smoke and automobile exhaust."

Read, print, download the Draft Final Puget Sound Air Toxics Evaluation.

Agency’s partners contribute to reducing summertime smog

Hot summer days + vehicle exhaust = smog

"Summertime, and the living is... smoggy.” Yes, hot summer days combined with heavy traffic can lead to unhealthy levels of ozone, the primary component of smog.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency works with the oil industry, major businesses, the news media, the American Lung Association of Washington and other partners to protect public health and to make sure we don't exceed the federal health standard for ozone.

Elevated levels of smog hurt seniors and children with lung diseases, mar our mountain views, damage forests. Even healthy people can be affected if they exercise outdoors.

Also, if the region exceeds the standard for ozone, we would lose our clean-air status.This would trigger expensive regulatory requirements and create a major impediment to economic growth.

One cornerstone of our efforts to stay below the standard is our partnership with major oil companies. Since 1999, they have voluntarily produced low-evaporation gasoline during the summer. This reduces ozone-producing ingredients by 5 to 10 percent, or up to 15 tons a day.

BP/Amoco (ARCO), Puget Sound Refining Company (Texaco and Shell), Tesoro Northwest Company, Phillips Petroleum (76) and U.S. Oil & Refining Co. are producing the smog-reducing gasoline this summer, which will also be distributed at Chevron, Exxon and Mobil stations.

Another cornerstone is our award-winning Smog Watch program. When air-quality forecasts indicate summertime air pollution might reach unhealthy levels, we issue a Smog Watch — a call-to-action encouraging individuals, businesses and governments to reduce their smog-producing activities until the sunny, stagnant weather ends.

We ask meteorologists, traffic reporters, news media, local businesses and other public agencies to encourage people to make voluntary changes to avoid further elevation of smog levels.Through our Clean Air Network, we notify 930 e-mail subscribers, who forward the alert to thousands of employees and businesses.

We also have worked with businesses and local governments to put together Smog Watch plans. The Boeing Company, for example, puts up large signs at parking-lot entrances, activates a phone hot line, issues bulletins, gives away bus tickets and reduces its use of gasoline-powered groundskeeping equipment.

Other year-round Clean Air Agency programs also reduce smog-forming pollutants:

• Inspecting gasoline stations to make sure their vapor-recovery equipment is working.
• Offering incentives for people to replace gasoline lawnmowers with electric or manual mowers.
• Prohibiting outdoor burning in urbanized areas.
• Encouraging people to buy fuel-efficient, low-emission cars such as electric-gasoline hybrids.

 

Survey shows people care about clean air

People understand they are the main source of air pollution in the region, they say they have made some behavior changes to improve air quality, they are willing to make other changes, and they are willing to pay for clean air. These are some key results from a recent survey of Puget Sound residents.

Gilmore Research conducted the telephone survey in January 2002 to measure public perception about clean air issues, identify changes in attitudes and behavior, and help us plan or improve our programs.

Half of the survey respondents said air pollution is a very serious or somewhat serious problem. This perception has only changed slightly since a 1998 survey. Nearly all respondents agreed that clean air is important to good health, and half felt strongly that they would make lifestyle changes to help protect air quality. A majority (60 percent) believes global climate change is a serious problem for the region.

Puget Sound residents are willing to pay for air quality. Fifty-five percent said they would be willing to vote for clean-air taxes, and 80 percent of that group said they would be willing to pay $10 per year.

The survey also asked questions about wood stoves, fireplace inserts and fireplaces; people's outdoor-burning habits; and ownership of gasoline-powered yard-maintenance equipment. We'll use this information to help us design and improve our education and incentive programs.

 

 

Commentary: Pondering a cultural mystery

By Mike Schultz, agency communications specialist

Some societies adopt traits that outsiders would consider particularly odd. For example, in one English-speaking culture that most of us are familiar with, nearly all families grow a certain crop, even though the society considers itself non-agrarian.

This crop is so integrated into the culture that residential dwellings and properties are designed for and around the crop. In fact, the crop has become so much a part of the culture that it isn’t even referred to as a crop.

This mystery crop is harvested regularly throughout the growing season with mechanical devices. Some families hire professionals to do the harvesting, but most do it themselves with their own harvesters. This environmentally conscious culture must place an exceptionally high value on the crop, because most versions of these harvesters emit as much air pollution as 40 automobiles.

The crop is a major industry — a multi-billion dollar business involving seed, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, irrigation equipment, huge water consumption during the summer and harvesting equipment, as well as maintenance, oil and gasoline for the harvesters. Once the crop is harvested, it is often bagged or containerized.

Now here is the unique part. The crop is grown not for human consumption, or animal feed, or for any other purpose we would normally associate with a crop. The harvested crop is simply thrown away. In fact, so much of this crop is grown, harvested and discarded that it has become a significant solid-waste disposal problem for the society.

So why do those people grow the crop? The two most common reasons are: (1) it’s expected by society; and (2) it’s nice to look at.

Is this crazy or what? Think about it the next time you fire up your gasoline-powered lawn mower!

 

 

FY2002 accomplishments: Launched new programs, expanded partnerships, won awards

• Launched Diesel Solutions to clean up emissions from diesel trucks and buses.
  
  
• Evaluated air toxics for impact on public health.
  
  
• Dropped fees for drycleaners by 67 percent because most of them now use nonpolluting machines.
  
  
• Reduced paperwork for businesses when they build or move their facilities.
  
  
• Revised wood-smoke complaints program to increase on-site visits and boost enforcement actions and fines.
  
  
• Won awards for Diesel Solutions (EPA Clean Air Excellence Award) and Kitsap County outdoor burn ban campaign (Puget Sound Chapter of Public Relations Society of America).
  
  
• Expanded partnerships with businesses, government and organizations
  • Low-evaporation gasoline in summer (partnership with gasoline refiners and suppliers)
  • Diesel Solutions (partnership with major businesses, government agencies, oil industry, school districts)
  • Air Watch Northwest (partnership with American Lung Association of Washington)
  • Northwest Natural Yard Days (partnership with 30 other agencies)
  • Puget Sound Clean Cities Coalition (partnership with public-private consortium)
  • Commuter Challenge (partnership with cities and counties)
    
    
• Launched initiative to improve gas station compliance with our vapor-control requirements.
  
  
• Addressed financial challenges caused by reduced state and local budgets and loss of revenues from the motor-vehicle excise tax — froze hiring, reduced staffing and focused on sustaining operations at leaner level.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency's fiscal and work-planning year runs from July 1 to June 30.

 

 

FY2003 plans: Adding new initiatives, planning for the future, improving what we do now

• Complete indoor-burning stakeholder process to make recommendations on how the agency should implement new indoor-burning programs to encourage or require replacement of wood-burning devices and fireplaces with natural gas or propane devices.
  
  
• Prohibit burning of land-clearing debris, as required by state law, in areas where disposal alternatives are available.
  
  
• Convene Global Climate Change Stakeholders Group next fall to prepare a recommendation for a regional goal for reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions and to develop a consensus on priorities for local actions by winter 2003.
  
  
• Develop a multi-pollutant approach and evaluation framework for selecting new cost-effective programs focusing on multiple pollutants. For example, encouraging people to purchase lower-emission, fuel-efficient vehicles would reduce greenhouses gases, toxic air pollutants, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen. In the past, each of our programs addressed a single pollutant such as ozone, carbon monoxide or fine particles.
  
  
• Research potential programs recommended by the CO/Ozone Stakeholders Group — a program to encourage voluntary use of low-solvent paints, stains, sealers, primers and other architectural coatings and a program for replacing older portable gasoline cans that leak fumes.
  
  
• Expand the Diesel Solutions program to include more partners using diesel emission-reduction equipment and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel.
  
  
• Update air monitoring to provide data for emerging issues such as toxic air pollutants, diesel exhaust, visibility and global climate change and to ensure we are focusing on cost-effective programs.
  
  
• Revise the registration program by examining whether we are registering the right types of facilities that produce air emissions; developing evaluation criteria; reviewing current registered facilities; and deciding if new ones should be brought into our registration program or others should be dropped. "Registered sources," as they are called, produce air emissions such as dust, smoke, solvent fumes or odors. They are required to pay a fee, undergo inspections, send reports and maintain compliance with all regulatory requirements.
  
  
• Upgrade the gasoline vapor-recovery program to increase compliance by gasoline stations with our requirements for vapor-recovery equipment on pumps and tanks.
  
  
• Improve asbestos outreach by partnering with city and county building departments to find ways to let people know they may need a Clean Air Agency permit when they get their demolition and building permits.

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency's fiscal and work-planning year runs from July 1 to June 30.

 

 

Coffee, beer and doughnuts can cause air pollution side-effects

Since coffee seems to set us Northwesterners apart from the rest of the country, let's use coffee roasters as an example of how we deal with these kinds of air quality issues.

All coffee roasting facilities in the central Puget Sound area - about 100 - are required to register with this agency. Their roasting units have capacities ranging from 20 to 300 pounds. A batch roasting cycle is about 20 minutes. Some roasters operate for just two to three hours at a time and a couple of days a week. The larger well-known roasters operate almost continuously. In fact, one of them roasted about 34,000 tons of beans in the year 2000 alone (no wonder we're "sleepless in Seattle").

Intense, burnt-smelling odors are released during roasting and accompanied by visible smoke when the beans are released from the roaster. Not surprisingly, darker roasts cause more smoke. This agency requires that odors and smoke be substantially reduced by natural-gas-fired afterburners (some incorporating catalytic units).

Our biggest compliance challenge with roasters is convincing operators to maintain the proper temperature in the afterburner unit so that smoke and odors are destroyed.

A unique issue we are now studying is how to deal with the proliferation of very small commercial roasters. As more establishments enter the custom-blend, custom-roast, boutique-coffee market, we are now seeing applications for 1- to 10-pound units. We must decide if we want to register roasters this small and determine how to regulate their emissions.

In the meantime, enjoy your morning coffee and rolls and your evening microbrew with the assurance that their local production is not fouling our air.

 

Air Operating Permits now on the Web

The home page now has a link to new information about all approved Air Operating Permits (sometimes called Title V permits). To see draft permits, which are open to public comment for 30 days before we issue or renew them, select Permits Open for Comment on the home page.

The 1990 Federal Clean Air Act Amendments require us to issue Air Operating Permits for the largest sources of air pollution. Each permit compiles all regulatory requirements for air-pollution control into one comprehensive document.

 

 

 

About the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency

The mission of the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency is to ensure that people in King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties have clean, healthy air to breathe. Our job is to provide air quality management services on behalf of cities and counties for their citizens. We do this by adopting and enforcing air quality regulations, sponsoring voluntary initiatives to improve air quality, and educating people and businesses about clean-air choices. To learn more about our work, visit us at www.pscleanair.org.