"Air Quality" Facts and Comments - airqualityguy's Blog - Bakersfield.com

Feeling Sick?

Gunk in Air is Awful this Week

The dairies must be pumping their lagoons again. They tend to do that this time of year. The ammonia gases emitted from these lagoons is tremendous. Of course, without car and truck exhaust the ammonia would be relatively harmless. Put them together and ammonium nitrate forms in our cool moist air. These particles sear the lungs and go right into the blood stream causing heart attacks. In general, they make you feel sick. They also make our air violate the federal health standard for PM 2.5 (air borne particles of 2.5 microns or less). The graphs show the readings for the last two days. 35 is the federal health standard. We are clearly well above that level. The readings are from the meter at California and Stockdale.

The coming rain storm is very welcome.

Eat Local

Garden Solves Problems

I don't mean to brag but this photo of my small garden taken this morning says a thousand words.

Green leaf gardens grow their best in this valley in the Fall. We have been eating nightly salads from this small 4 x 8 foot garden for 3 weeks already. The end of its production is not in sight.

What does this have to do with air pollution? When food is locally grown and consumed there is a lot less fossil fuel based transportation involved. Food grown like this does not have fossil fuel based fertilizer or pesticides either. Besides, healthy food is good for the body and it may allow you to walk or ride your bicycle more. The gardening itself is good for the soul. The produce does need careful washing to get rid of the dust and soot from our air.

Tired of Bad Air?

Beautiful Skies?

We make the brown haze we live in. Let there be no doubt. We also need to take personal responsibility for it as valley residents and businesses. It is costing us more in health related problems than it would cost to clean up. Unfortunately, private interests still take priority over the public interest in the SJV. Increased demand for change is the key.

Vicariously, you may escape this gas chamber by viewing live web cams placed just a few miles above the valley floor.

Check out US Forest Web Cams . There you can see scenes like this one shot around 7:30 this morning looking from Brekenridge towards Tobias Peak with the ugly haze we occupy in the lower left of the picture.

Court Slams Air District

Appeals Court Rules In Favor of Local Group

The Association of Irritated Residents, a local air quality group, has prevailed over the San Joaquin Valley Air District. They got the state appeals court to rule in their favor regarding the inadequacy of a rule regulating large dairies for air pollution emissions which was implemented over two years ago.

The air district made a rule, as required by law, but never determined if the rule would have any effect on the health problems so many valley residents suffer from because of poor air quality.

Now the rule must go back to the drawing board. The air district has to redetermine emission levels from cows and the number can only go higher as the latest research indicates. They also have to determine if the reductions in pollution they claim the rule will force will actually have any effect on the health of valley residents. If not, then they will not be able to justify the rule and will have to make it stronger.

The whole process will be open to public scrutiny and public comment. A new set of board members will have to approve the rule and the State Air Resources Board will get another chance to examine it as well.

The rule regulating pollution from dairies was the first of its kind in the United States and the air district really blew it. For an entity that claims to be a public health agency, and whose whole reason for being is public health, it is very surprising how health plays such a minor part in their rulemaking. The judges were very strong in their criticism of the air district for this obvious fault.

Maybe now we will get something that will actually make a difference. The old rule basically codified the satus quo and did not force dairies to do anything that was not in their best interests already in maximizing their profit.

Outrageous Cost to Health

Six Billion Dollars and Counting

An independent study by economists shows an outrageous cost to the San Joaquin Valley of at least $6.3 billion dollars every year for our failure to meet clean air standards.

Benefits of Meeting Clean Air Standards Nov 2008

The cost arises from premature death, work and school absences, and direct health costs for increased asthma, heart and lung disease and other pollution related problems. Not included are the costs of a brain drain, lowered investment, and lower crop yields because of our horrible air.

This kind of cost (over $1,600 per capita annually) calls for massive investment in cleaning up our pollution problem. The return on investment could be tremendous.

In my opinion, there is no doubt that a $50 billion investment in the right areas could improve our air quality to federal standards. The $6 billion returned to our economy yearly would be a 12% return on investment. The actual return in quality of life improvements is not measurable but worth several billion more. Most people would gladly pay a thousand dollars per year to live here if the air was healthful. Not having all those sinus headaches would be worth the cost to me.

I would spend the $50 billion by retiring one million of the most polluting cars and light trucks ($10 billion); retiring 200,000 of the oldest, most polluting trucks ($10 billion); enclosing the freestall barns and lagoons of the 100 largest dairies ($10 billion); and building enough solar energy plants to power the equivalent of 4 million homes in order to retire all but the cleanest power plants and begin to electrify the railroads ($20 billion).

Does anyone think $50 billion is not enough to improve our air quality to federal standards?

Ozone Season Finally Over

Worse Air Than LA

The San Joaquin Valley beat LA again for worst air in the nation. Barring a November heat wave, the ozone season has finally come to a close with us in first place.

This link will show you the numbers. We had, unofficially, 127 violations of the 8-hour federal ozone health standard from April to October. LA had 120. We have now beat LA for three years in a row and this is the highest number of violations in the last four years for either region.

California Air Resources Board ozone data 2008

The graph looks like a toss-up. I think we beat out LA in September and October to gain the title. We both averaged 80 ppb for the 214 days of the season and the standard is 75.

Note: In the data, LA is known as the South Coast Air Basin.

New Paradigm for Fuel Use

Large Gas Tax Needed

In today's paper there is an article about the concern of the oil industry with new regulations concerning the reduction of global warming emissions.

Oil Industry worries about cost of new laws

I don't think they need to worry too much about costs. The expected increase in costs will certainly be passed to the consumer.

But, I don't think the new low carbon fuel standard will be very successful. It is supposed to bring down the carbon content of transportation fuels 10% by 2020. Corn ethanol will not do this since it requires more energy to produce than it contains. It also causes so many economic and ecological negatives that it is ridiculous to consider any more. Plug -in Hybrids or all-electric vehicles will be the only sure way to reduce the carbon content of our fuel but even that solution will require more renewable electricity such as wind and solar and less reliance on imported power from coal.

A better solution to get us quickly to the 10% reduction target would be to simply put a tax of around $2 on each gallon of fuel sold. Fuels that are developed that have lower carbon intensity can be taxed at proportionately lower rates. The money should be rebated 100% in shares to every resident of the state with perhaps only a half share for children under 14 so that larger families are not encouraged. This will raise the price of anything that uses transportation fuel but the 100% rebate equalizes things for the economy as a whole. With the higher fuel prices our society wil become much more efficient in the use of transportation fuel. Those who can be more efficient faster are rewarded with a rebate higher than their increase in costs. This plan would give us fewer vehicle miles traveled and be more than equivalent to a 10% reduction in the carbon content of our fuel.

The figures for August of this year show that in the United States 15 billion fewer vehicle miles were traveled when compared to a year ago. No one doubts this was because of the high gas prices. Now the slowed demand has caused a temporary drop in fuel prices. This is a perfect time to put on a $2 tax which is where prices will go anyway as soon as world economies heat up again. This way the money would stay here in California instead of foreign countries.

The side benefit of reducing the use of fuel through efficiency measures is our air quality will improve.

Two More Days of Hell

Air Got Even Worse !!

From Friday through Sunday, the air quality in the San Joaquin Valley was being polluted seriously by all three of the major categories of contaminants which are ozone, dust (PM 10), and ultra-fine particulate matter (PM 2.5).

The last two days (Monday and Tuesday) have seen even worse levels for all three types of pollution and we have it all right here in Kern County.

On Tuesday, we violated the ozone standard by 3% and the PM 2.5 standard by 6%. At the same time we had significant dust at 80% of the 24 hour federal standard.

Wednesday, things took a turn for the worse. Kern violated the ozone standard by 19% and the PM 2.5 standard by 60%. Dust levels were at 97% of the PM 10 standard.

I strongly feel that when two or more violations are occurring simultaneously that the Air Quality Index needs to be adjusted appropriately to give people a true measure of the danger they face when outdoors. All we get right now is an announcement of which category is the worst. A person reading the paper or even watching the weather has no idea that there may be really serious problems with breathing the air because two or more different types of pollution are reaching unhealthy levels simultaneously.

Three Days of Hell

Triple Whammy !!!

The San Joaquin Valley has violated the federal ozone standard the past three days with a high yesterday (10.26.08) of 84 parts per billion. The standard is 75 ppb.

We are also experiencing violations the past few days of the federal standard for PM 2.5 caused by ammonia mixing with NOx. The high was on 10.25.08 with 46 micrograms per cubic meter and the standard is 35.

Dust has also been heavy in the air. We had a high of 137 micrograms per cubic meter on 10.24.08. The standard is 150 so we didn't quite reach the point where visibility is less than 200 meters and you need a mask to go out to the mailbox.

No wonder I saw higher than average absences today in the classes I teach.

Air Quality Worse Than Ever

No Improvement This Year

There are many ways to compare air quality from year to year. One way is to look at "good" days vs. "very unhealthy" days which are the extremes in our air quality forecasts.

Last summer (June 22 to September 22, 2007) we had zero days of "Very Unhealthy" air in the San Joaquin Valley. That is code "purple" when you are advised to not go outside unless absolutely necessary. We also had nine days of "good" quality air during the same time which is as good as living at Pismo Beach. This summer we had five days of the "very unhealthy" days, and we didn't experience our first days of "good" air until the last two days of the summer which was this past weedend.

Give thanks for every "good" day. My lungs feel refreshed for the first time in three months.

Dust is in the Air

Harvest Time is Choke Time

When the mega dairies start harvesting the corn fields for silage the resulting truck traffic on country roads is really scary. The dust billows and the old trucks are belching diesel pollution. Add the coinciding almond harvest and the dusty haze starts to bring visibility down to less than a mile throughout the valley.

Of course, our air district says we do not have a dust problem. By ignoring several violations of the federal standard the past couple years and by only having PM 10 monitors in Fresno and Corcoran we don't really get the true picture of this kind of dust pollution and our wonderful EPA has approved the claim that there is no dust problem in the San Joaquin Valley.

The pictures are all taken this morning around 11 am.

Criminal Behavior by Air District

Ozone Levels Damage Young Lungs

There is no doubt that Wednesday's afternoon ozone levels were very unhealthy in Kern County. Yet, were any cross country meets cancelled?

Today and tomorrow will also be in the high unhealthy range for ozone pollution. Will any football games be postponed until Saturday morning instead of being played at the worst time of the day on Friday afternoon and early evening?

Our Air District (Brenda Turner) needs to tell Athletic Commissioner Jim Crichlow to get out the stick and start protecting the health of our youth. They should also get the Superintendent of Schools involved. Why is the decision to protect the lungs of kids left up to individual schools?

Air Was Unhealthy For Everyone

Article Not Quite Accurate

Today's tragic Californian story on the football player's death is well written and researched except for one fact.

quote from article: Based on air quality that day — in a range unhealthy for sensitive groups — the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District guidelines recommend outdoor activity only before 10 a.m.

The air quality that day may have been predicted to be unhealthy for sensitive groups but it turned out to be unhealthy for everyone which is a much more serious air quality category where vigorous sports practice should not be taking place under any circumstances.

The AQI is based on the maximum readings for each county. The San Joaquin Valley maximum eight-hour ozone readings that day turned out to be 105, 103, and 108 ppm in Kern, Tulare, and Fresno Counties respectively. The unhealthy range begins at 96 ppb and goes up to 115 ppb. These are federal standards.

IS TAP WATER SAFE?

Bakersfield Wells Contaminated With Cancer Causing Chemical

At least 25 wells serving the City of Bakersfield are contaminated with 1,2,3-TCP. The different levels of TCP in each city well from 2002 to 2006 can be found at this California Department of Public Health web page.

The Consumer Confidence Report for Bakersfield states that TCP is the only chemical in our water exceeding the government health standard. TCP is a known and strong carcinogen in lab animals. It is an item of concern to those drinking the water and to those breathing the vapors from the water such as when bathing or washing with hot water.

The Public Health Goal for TCP is .0007 micrograms per liter (ug/L). This is basically the lowest level at which the chemical can be detected. The Consumer Confidence Report says the average for all Bakersfield wells is .02 ug/L This makes the TCP levels in Bakersfield water about 30 times higher than the Public Health Goal.

Certain wells are worse than others. The highest reading reported in the CCR is .27 ug/L. Several wells have levels approaching this level. People drinking the water from those wells may be exposed to far higher levels of TCP than residents in other parts of the city.

Why is this allowed? Basically, the federal Environmental Protection Agency and Cal EPA have neglected their duty to determine a Maximum Contaminant Level for this chemical. The process is underway but can be, and has been, stalled for many years from the influence of certain industries such as DOW and Shell which are responsible for allowing the release of the chemical in the first place. So, there is no law yet requiring a municipal water system to do anything about the contamination.

The solution is a series of carbon filters which have been shown to effectively remove this chemical. We have soiled our nest and now we need to pay the piper. It is estimated to cost around 25 million to install the system of filters for the entire water supply. If 25 lives are prevented from getting cancer and dying prematurely it is worth the investment.

Damaging Young Lungs

What are we doing to our youth?

Making 14 to 18 year old boys and girls practice football and cross country is ok when the temperature is over 100. It is not ok when the air quality is unhealthy as it was this past week.

The ozone levels we experienced were well above the federal standard for most of the week. This damages the lungs of all ages. The young won't notice this damage so much right now because they generally have excess lung capacity. It shows up chronically in the 50's and 60's when lung capacity starts to drop naturally. It is similar to a knee injury a 16 year old suffers during football practice. He can recover fine now but may need joint replacement when age 55.

We need to take better care of these kids. Twice a day football practices need to be curtailed when the air is this bad.

Phlegm and Chest Pain

Air District Not Doing Job

We had promises of steady and continued improvement two years ago. We also had promises of attainment of the federal health standard by 2024 which was too long in many peoples' minds. They didn't tell us our air would actually get worse before it got better. How does a public health agency like our air district get away with this crap? What part of our economy is more important than our health?

Check out the chart for June and the first part of July. Our ozone readings are 8% worse than the past couple years. Just like our recent fall and winter particulate problems were worse. The smoke is bad enough but this ozone problem has nothing to do with the smoke. It is a combination of heat, stagnant air, NOX from vehicles and volatile organic compounds (number one source: dairies). Our air would still be hazy from the first two ingredients but it is deadly after mixing in the last two.

AIR DISTRICT LIES

What progress?

One reason given for not approving a stricter cleanup plan for the ultra-fine particulate matter we are plagued with, was the huge improvement the local air district has made since 1999. Keep in mind, we now know that we are dying, on average, 10 years earlier, than those fortunate to live with cleaner air.

www.fresnobee.com/263/story/621822.html

State officials said the region's concentrations of the pollutant have dropped by 45% since 1999. ...."Tremendous progress has been made here," said state board chairwoman Mary Nichols. "In fairness, the district has been doing a good job."

Well, everyone knows it is easy to play with statistics in order to prove a point. Mark Twain said, "There are lies, damn lies, and statistics." I can play that game also. I looked at the readings taken at California and Stockdale since 1999 during a ten week period covering the months of November and December when PM 2.5 readings are often high. The federal health standard is 35 (micrograms per cubic meter) although many say that is not low enough. From 1999 to 2006 there is an improvement of around 45% in the number of days over the standard. If you go to 2007, the improvement drops to 38%.

If you only look at the past five years it is shocking to see that every year the number of exceedences has increased. In 2003 there were only 13 days of killer air during this 70 day period. In 2004, 21 days. In 2005, 24 days. In 2006, 25 days. In 2007, 30 days. That is a 231% increase over the last 5 years in contrast to the district claim of a 45% improvement over the past nine years. It all depends on your assumptions and baselines.

Why has the air worsened over the past five years? I can only speculate that since ammonium nitrate is the main particulate causing the PM 2.5 violations it is the tremendous growth in Kern County dairies which coincides with these same five years. Ammonium nitrate needs two ingredients in our air. NOX from cars and trucks and ammonia from dairies. Our NOX levels have actually decreased the past five years due to natural fleet turnover to cleaner burning vehicles. Our ammonia levels have skyrocketed during the same time.

The attached graphs are from CARB. I have estimated the number of violations through rough interpolation where gaps appear and I have not counted with extreme accuracy those violation days very near to the standard which is the black line. The scale changes on some of the graphs as well. Although the exact numbers may be disputed, the fact our air is getting worse and not better the past five years is indisputable.

Note: there are no local measurements for PM 2.5 before 1999.

rubber stamp on bad air

Cleanup Plan Up for Approval by State Air Board

In Fresno on Thursday the California Air Resources Board will meet to consider approval of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District's particulate matter cleanup plan. In the past they have rubber stamped every weak plan put out by the district resulting in years of delay to any significant progress in cleaning our air.

New information will be presented at the meeting showing that people living in polluted places like Bakersfield die 10 years earlier on average. We will see if that information makes a difference to the state authorities this time around.

24,000 deaths per year in California linked to air pollution

Flies

Fly Solution?

If, like me, you live a few miles from several of those newly arrived factory-run-mega-dairies, you may have noticed more flies than usual during the spring, summer, and fall. These dairies weren't around a few years ago and many people around me think the flies are now worse than they used to be. I can't prove a specific fly comes from a particular dairy but I do know flies can travel a mile or two per day. It doesn't take them long to find homes to bother. Why they want to leave those manure piles I will never figure out.

Anyway, I have taken to planting bulbs of insect eating plants to which flies seem fatally attracted. This spring I will have flowers blooming for about one month straight. I don't know if I can get these things to bloom in the fall but it is theoretically possible. Free fly traps like these are fairly easy to grow in any case.

The only drawback is the slight odor of dead meat coming out of the cavernous trap deep inside the flower.

No. 1 Polluter?

Are Cows Number One?

The Californian is questioning Thompson's billboard which implies cows are a major source of our air pollution.

Campaign ad watch: Clearing the air on dairy pollution

Sure, we have lots of trucks and cars on our roads spewing tons of NOX into our air. Diesel trucks also put out plenty of diesel soot to add to our particulate problem.

But, two ingredients are needed to form smog, VOC's and NOX. One without the other is relatively harmless. Cows are the number one producer of VOC's. My car puts out less than 10 lbs of VOC's in a year. A single cow is responsible for 20 lbs.

Although diesel soot, fireplace smoke, and dust help to make our particulate problem one of the worst in the nation, the major part of our particulate pollution is the ammonium nitrate that forms during the cool months of the year. This is created by the mixing of NOX and ammonia. Again, one without the other is benign. Cows are by far our biggest source of ammonia pollution.

The paper cannot so easily state that Thompson is wrong when he puts up a billboard saying cows are the number one polluter. Assumptions are everything with such statements.

Also, Watson not only scoffed and criticized Wasco citizens's attempt to vote for a buffer zone against dairies, he also fought against a 3 mile dairy buffer zone for all Kern County cities and schools.