BOARD MEETING DATE: April 2, 2010
AGENDA NO. 27

REPORT:

Annual Report for 2009 on AB 2588 Air Toxics Hot Spots Program 

SYNOPSIS:

The Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act of 1987 (AB 2588) requires local air pollution districts to prepare an annual report. Key accomplishments for 2009 include: (1) reviewed twelve facility health risk assessments (HRAs), (2) conducted one public notification meeting, (3) approved one risk reduction plan, (4) prioritized 330 AB 2588 facilities for FY 2006-07, (5) requested seven and evaluated five detailed Air Toxics Inventory Reports (ATIRs), (6) notified nine facilities to prepare HRAs, (7) updated AB 2588 website information, and (8) reviewed the 2005 Toxics Release Inventory and National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment Data.

COMMITTEE:

Stationary Source, March 19, 2010, Reviewed

RECOMMENDED ACTION:

Receive and file.  
 

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer

Background

Under the requirements of the California Air Toxic “Hot Spots” Information and Assessment Act of 1987 (AB 2588), the AQMD staff approves facility emission inventories, determines which facilities must prepare health risk assessments (HRAs) and ensures that HRAs are prepared according to state and AQMD guidelines; and, when needed, conducts public notification meetings or announcements and requires risk reduction. An additional requirement of the Act is for local air districts to provide an annual report of risk assessments and rulemaking that reduces emissions of air toxics.

Accomplishments

The attached report provides a summary of major program activities during the calendar year 2009 and anticipated activities during 2010.

In 2009, twelve facility HRAs were reviewed. Seven HRAs were approved, and one is pending review by the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) prior to approval. AQMD staff also prioritized and screened 330 AB 2588 facilities for potential risk for FY 2006-07, requested seven detailed Air Toxics Inventory Reports (ATIRs) including several from Prime Diesel ICE operators, approved five ATIRs, notified nine facilities to prepare HRAs, approved one risk reduction plan, and initiated review of the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) Data. In addition, staff conducted one public notification meeting. The public notification meeting was held on February 25, 2009 for Vista Metals, Inc., since the facility’s cancer risk was over 10 in a million.

Over the past few years, AB 2588 staff has been extensively involved in the investigation of community concerns regarding Quemetco Company. Quemetco is a secondary lead smelter located in the City of Industry.  Their main activity is to recover lead from spent automobile batteries. The facility has been operating at this location since 1959.  Persistent neighborhood odors, past violations of the lead health standard, recent permit actions, and an AB 2588 public notice have drawn much public interest.

Pursuant to AB 2588, Quemetco prepared an HRA which was subsequently approved on December 16, 2005, that indicated a maximum individual cancer risk of 21.8 in one million subjecting the facility to the AB 2588 public notice requirements, and a cancer burden of 1.15, triggering AQMD Rule 1402 risk reduction requirements. Quemetco provided public notice on January 17, 2006. Pursuant to Rule 1402, Quemetco prepared a Risk Reduction Plan, subsequently approved by AQMD, and implemented by Quemetco.

Quemetco conducted source tests in January 2009, and prepared and submitted another HRA to demonstrate compliance with Rule 1402. AQMD staff reviewed, modified, and approved the Quemetco HRA as modified, on February 23, 2010. The modified Rule 1402 HRA depicts a maximum individual cancer risk of 4.4 in one million, cancer burden of 0.023, and non-cancer risks less than one. The cancer risk has been reduced by 80% (from 21.8 in one million to 4.4 in one million). All health impacts are below the action risk levels in Rule 1402.

Every three years, beginning in 1996, the U.S. EPA publishes a National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (NATA).  NATA is analogous to AQMD’s Multiple Air Toxic Exposure Study (MATES).   Whereas MATES looks at population risks in the four-county jurisdiction of the AQMD, the 50 states are addressed in NATA.  Because of significant errors in the 2002 NATA, the city of Cerritos was incorrectly identified as a high risk community.  As a result, AQMD pledged to take a more active role in the review of future NATAs and AB 2588 staff was assigned this responsibility.

In October 2009, the U.S. EPA made available a preliminary draft of the 2005 NATA and identified the high risk facilities (i.e., facilities with cancer risks > 100 in a million or a non-cancer chronic hazard index > 5) within the South Coast Air Basin.  AB 2588 staff reviewed the high risk facilities and their emissions to assure that their status and emissions are accurate.   Staff and U.S. EPA, based on a thorough review of the Annual Emissions Reports, TRI, and process reviews, determined that the preliminary draft 2005 NATA did not accurately depict the risks from these facilities. Staff also found that about 60 percent of the facilities were no longer operating in 2005, and an additional 20 percent had process changes that eliminated emissions of the risk drivers. Staff and U.S. EPA plan to work together to establish data handling protocols to enhance the efficiency of analyzing future NATA reports. This effort was further supplemented by the review of the Toxics Release Inventory Data.

In 2009, criteria and toxic emissions for fiscal year 2006-2007 were also updated on the AQMD website, which is available to the public.

Future Activities

In 2010, staff plans to:

• Update Facility Prioritization Procedures to be consistent with the cancer potencies, non-cancer reference exposure levels, multi-pathway factors, and exposure factors in AQMD’s Risk Assessment Procedures for Rules 1401 – New Source Review of Air Toxic Compounds and 212 – Standards for Approving Permits and Issuing Public Notice.

• Develop internal procedures for addressing emission inventory, risk assessment, and public notification procedures for the other industry-wide categories, such as, auto body shops.

• Continue to identify facilities with prime diesel internal combustion engines (DICEs), notify these facilities of the requirements to prepare and submit ATIR and HRA, followed by reviewing and approving these HRAs.

• Amend the AB 2588 Public Notification Procedures such that future meetings are conducted by AB 2588 staff instead of facility personnel.

• In cooperation with the U.S. EPA and the CARB, develop toxic emission data handling procedures to improve the accuracy of future NATA reports.

• Continue to prioritize AB 2588 facilities and notify those with high priority scores to prepare detailed air toxics emission inventories and HRAs.

• Continue to work on 13 facility HRAs in addition to 4 detailed Air Toxics Inventory Reports (ATIRs) that are either under review or will be submitted in the first half of 2010. Seven of these HRAs are from major refineries.

• Staff will continue to review U.S. EPA TRI and NATA data relevant to AQMD for accuracy and consistency with local data reported by the facilities, as U.S. EPA updates its inventory data.

The annual report will be distributed to county boards of supervisors, city councils, and local health officers and will also be available on the AQMD’s website.

Attachment (DOC, 1.1m)

Annual Report on AB 2588 Air Toxics “Hot Spots” Program