BOARD MEETING DATE: July 10, 2009
AGENDA NO. 26

TITLE:

Progress Report on Discussions with Fire Agencies Pertaining to Rule 1143 – Consumer Paint Thinners & Multi-Purpose Solvents

SYNOPSIS:

This report summarizes follow-on activities of staff pertaining to Rule 1143 – Consumer Paint Thinners & Multi-Purpose Solvents. At the March 6, 2009 Board meeting, the Board directed staff to continue dialogue with local fire agencies, and consider developing an education/outreach program to remind consumers about the appropriate use of thinners and solvents. The Board further directed staff to work with the fire agencies to develop a mechanism to track acetone-related fires, as well as report on the penetration of non-acetone containing products. Staff has met with the fire agencies to discuss these items.

COMMITTEE:

Stationary Source, May 22, 2009, Reviewed

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.
 

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

The AQMD adopted Rule 1143 – Paint Thinners and Multi-purpose Solvents on March 6, 2009. The Board directed staff to continue conferring with local and state fire agencies on related matters. The Board also directed staff to explore the possible development of a mechanism to track acetone-related fire incidents over time. Such data does not exist at this time. In addition, the Board directed staff to develop an education/outreach program to remind consumers about the proper handling and use of paint thinners and their fire risks.

Since the Board Meeting in March 2009, staff has held meetings on March 27 and June 12 with the fire agencies to discuss specific concerns. Fire agencies representing Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino counties, the Office of State Fire Marshals, and the California Air Resources Board (CARB) participated in the meetings. A list of attendees of both meetings is attached. The meetings focused on discussing issues related to labeling, public education and outreach, and future tracking of acetone-related fire incidents, if any.

The participating fire agency officials agreed that there was a lack of available data to correlate increasing use of acetone with greater fire incidents. There is no chemical-specific reporting tool and database of this nature at the present time. Recognizing that the amount of solvent-based paint that may need to be thinned with paint thinner has greatly diminished in terms of volume, nevertheless they raised issues concerning consumer use of paint thinners for uses other than thinning paints and whether the public adequately reviews the warning statements placed on the labels. The meeting resulted in an agreement to investigate possible enhanced labeling options, the development of a joint education/outreach program, and the development of a joint pilot project to review and track acetone-related fire incidents.

On June 12, 2009, staff again met with interested fire agencies. The labeling, public education and outreach issues were extensively discussed. Staff noted the legal limitations of specifying changes to the label, since the Consumer Product Safety Commission strictly regulates labeling requirements. Staff suggested an education/outreach program based on the use of brochures or hang tags. Staff went over a draft brochure and hang tag prepared for the meeting. Fire department representatives, in providing initial feedback on the brochure, expressed their preference for enhanced balance of air quality information and potential hazards of using the products. The fire agencies agreed to provide written feedback on the contents of the draft brochure and hang tag. They further suggested expanding the education/outreach program to include public service announcements on local radio and television. Staff affirmed the strength of this approach based on positive experience with similar efforts in the past and responded positively to this suggestion.

Relative to the tracking of acetone-related fire incidents, the fire agencies acknowledged that such a detailed tracking mechanism is not yet in place. Therefore, staff, along with the fire agencies, further agreed to create a working group comprised of fire departments from local cities and counties, with a goal to develop a pilot program to investigate and track acetone-related fire incidents, if any, in order to provide some data to assess whether increased use of acetone results in more fires. Staff volunteered to recommend limited funding to initiate the pilot program. The fire department representatives present volunteered to identify and contact potential members for this working group.

Staff will continue working with CARB, the fire agencies, and the Consumer Product Safety Commission on the above issues and provide periodic reports to the Board’s Stationary Source Committee.
 

Attachment (XLS, 29k)

List of Attendees