Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice
 PO Box 33124     Riverside, CA 92519
(909) 360-8451
August 1, 2002
STUDIES SUPPORT COMMUNITY'S CONCERNS ABOUT AIR QUALITY

You may be confused after reading the Press Enterprise article reporting on
the UCR/CE-CERT and AQMD studies presented last night.   The problem is that
the reporters didn't do a good job at explaining the studies.    The two
studies don't contradict each other - they look at to two totally different
things.

  The difference between them is that the CECERT study looks at volume of
particulates and the AQMD looks at toxicity (impacts on health).   The AQMD
study by far, is the more important of the two.  Let's face it - if air
pollution didn't have health impacts we wouldn't be worrying about it.

Mira Loma currently has some of the highest levels of PM (particulate
matter).  Most (VOLUME) of that pollution (60%) comes from LA and Orange
County and is composed of dust, agriculture sources (ammonia from the
dairies) and traffic (8%); diesel is about 12% of the total.    If you look
at the TOXICITY (what damages us) 80% of the cancer risk comes from that
12%.

CE-CERT confirmed what we already knew.  The majority of the overall PM
pollution comes from LA and Orange County.    CECERT found that 60% of the
VOLUME of PM (particulate material) of our CURRENT air pollution problem is
blown in from LA and Orange County.   We've known that from other studies
and have made the point that since we already have a major air pollution
problem why contribute to it by adding the most deadly PM - diesel.

A few details were questionable such as where the monitors were placed.  For
example, they removed the testing equipment from OUTSIDE at the Jurupa
Valley High School, making it impossible to compare their findings with
existing information from all the other studies.   Since AQMD data shows
that the High School is the hot spot due to its location next to Etiwanda (a
major truck route) and Hadley's next door, one has to wonder why they didn't
measure outdoors as they promised.  They said it was due to "security
issues."

 They also said that the levels are equal around the community, which is
difficult to understand since every other study shows the levels next to
major streets and highways have the highest levels and that those levels
drop off dramatically after about 500 meters (1500 feet).  CE-CERT says they
are equal everywhere.   Apparently the placement of the testing equipment
was beyond 1500 feet of these source areas.

Another puzzling area was that CE-CERT found only a 47% transfer from of
pollutants from outside to inside.  In reviewing literature given to us by
Dr. Froines from the Southern California Particle Center and Supersite, it
showed that the ultrafine particles (diesel particles less than 2.5 microns
in size) get indoors from outdoors at 98.99 to 99.99% levels.  CE-CERT didn'
t look at these smaller particles.  These are important because at that very
small level they not only get deep into the lungs, they penetrate the tissue
at the cellular level creating extreme damage.

AQMD:  AQMD's Mira Loma Specific Air Management Plan looked at the RISK or
health posed by the various components of our air pollution (dust,
agriculture, etc).  After all, we wouldn't be worrying about air pollution
if it didn't affect health, so this is the important part.   By far, diesel
is the most dangerous of all the PM because it is highly toxic and
cancer-causing (40 different known cancer causing agents are in diesel).
Dust irritates - diesel kills!

Their baseline for cancer risk is their previous study (MATES II, done in
1997) showed that 80% of cancer risk in our area comes from diesel.   The
cancer risk for Mira Loma from diesel is 1265 cancer cases per 1 million
people.  (EPA considers an acceptable cancer risk as 1 in a million)

AQMD then, physically, went to each and every warehouse and noted the number
of trucks going in and out, the type of operation they had (24-hour or 8
hour deliveries) and mapped their location.   They then went to the County's
Planning Department and were given the open land that could be developed
into warehouses in the future.  They divided the area into 12 grids and
calculated the risk in each grid.   They also calculated the risk based on
in three ways:  just warehouses and their location; traffic routes; and then
with a build-out (all the land available is developed into warehouses).

The closer one gets to trucks (at warehouses, next to streets, or parked in
our neighborhoods) the higher your cancer risk.   Here are their findings:

*       Increased emissions of diesel PM due to warehouse operations in Mira Loma
cause increased cancer risks.
*       The magnitude of the risk increase depends on idling time, and specific
truck routes.
*       Mira Loma has high cancer risks to start with (1265 maximum, 905 average);
approximately 80% due to diesel emissions.
*       The average 12-grid increased risk ranged from 11 to 29.
*       Diesel emissions from truck routes in and from warehouses/distribution
centers can have a greater impact on residential and high school exposure.
*       The maximum per-grid risk increase was 68 (increased cancer cases).
*       The Jurupa Valley High School area experiences the largest risk increases,
up to 90.

They also found that the risk could be reduced down from 90 to 54) if we
assume the trucks will be cleaner in the future.  But if we have build out
of all the warehouses proposed we lose that reduction - the risk levels jump
back up to 90.

So the two studies show us that:

*       We currently have a major PM pollution problem, one that is a combination
of pollution from LA and Orange County and the agricultural areas.  60% of
the volume of pollution comes from LA Orange County.
*       The PM pollution is made up of dust, soot, ammonia from dairies, and
diesel - with diesel being a small portion (12%).
*       The greatest risk to health comes from diesel (80% of the cancer risk).
(Dust irritates, diesel kills).
*       Mira Loma cancer risk is 1265/million.  From the levels we're exposed to,
we would expect 1265 people to die from cancer for every million people
exposed (compare that to what EPA' considers an "acceptable" risk at
1-in-a-million).
*       Due to its proximity to Etiwanda, Hadley's trucking and other sources,
Jurupa Valley High School has the largest risk increases (up to 90).

Keep in mind this is only for cancer risk, it doesn't take into account the
studies directly linking heart disease, respiratory disease, birth defects,
etc. with PM in general and diesel in particular.

The conclusion is clear, we already have an enormous PM pollution problem
(CE-CERT), adding more warehouses makes the situation worse and in
particular, creates a severe health threat to our community (AQMD).

A vote for warehouses is a vote against the health of our kids and the
community.

 If you have any questions about the studies or more information give us a
call. Penny Newman (909) 360-8451