Toxins Join O.C. Air Via ‘Clean’ Industry : 169 Companies Released More Than 7 Million Pounds of Chemical Fumes in ’87

On most days, the skies above Orange County offer few clues about the chemical stew we breathe.

It does not come from smokestacks spewing dark columns of industrial excess. Increasingly, it comes from producers of high-tech computer chips, circuit boards, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, the so-called “clean” industries cherished by civic boosters, the kind of industry rich in jobs but without the mess and environmental threats of industries of old. Or so it seemed--until now.

Volumes of statistics compiled for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and obtained by The Times Orange County Edition paint a startling picture of industrial air pollution in Orange County.

7 Million Pounds

At least 169 companies in Orange County released more than 7 million pounds of chemical fumes into the atmosphere in 1987. And the heaviest concentration of troublesome--but legal--vapors were in Brea, Irvine and Anaheim, which together accounted for nearly 56% of the county’s total emissions.

The amount of chemicals released countywide is the equivalent of 3 pounds a year of airborne pollutants for each of the county’s 2.1 million residents, including suspected carcinogens ethylene oxide and chromium as well as styrene and Freon, chemicals implicated in the erosion of the Earth’s protective ozone layer.

The immediate health threat of such releases is unknown. But experts warn that the numbers give cause for concern about the industrial revolution of the past three decades that has transformed Orange County from a string of bedroom communities into the second-largest county for potentially toxic air emissions in California. Even so, neighboring Los Angeles County generates more than six times the amount of potentially toxic chemical fumes, according to the EPA data.

“Most of this is colorless and, in many cases, odorless, so it’s invisible, making it nearly impossible to quantify the problem,” said UC Irvine professor F. Sherwood Rowland, a chemist who with researcher Mario Molina was the first to link chlorofluorocarbons to depletion of the ozone layer.

“For years, the standard way of getting rid of a large number of volatile chemicals was to release them into the atmosphere,” he said. “It doesn’t happen just in Orange County, but across America. And who knows what kind of price we have paid or are going to pay for these habits?”

Will Only Grow Worse

Although the EPA figures are largely estimates provided to the agency by the companies themselves, environmentalists, regulators and even industry officials say it is a problem that will only grow worse if it continues unchecked.

“The bottom line is, nobody really knows what the impacts of these chemicals are,” said Bill Ryan, an environmental engineer with CalPIRG, a statewide environmental watchdog group. “There is the image of the so-called ‘clean’ industry (but) the toxic air emissions information that is emerging . . . is raising questions about the truthfulness of that image.”

The variety and sheer volume of reported chemicals discharged, either intentionally or as so-called “fugitive” releases, also underscores the dearth of local, state and federal regulations. While tough, new standards would seem needed to monitor and curb such potentially toxic emissions, only in recent months have state and federal officials, including President Bush, begun acting in earnest on the issue. In part, that has been because the scope of the problem has been a guess at best.

But two weeks ago, Bush proposed an ambitious plan to curb smog, acid rain and toxic emissions that may ultimately cost industry and consumers up to $19 billion a year when fully implemented at the turn of the century.

In Orange County, Irvine is the first to seize the issue among local municipalities. The city is considering a wide-ranging ordinance that would restrict the use of certain solvents and compounds in what is believed to be the most far-reaching legislation yet in the United States against users of ozone-depleting chemicals.

Recycling Refrigerant

It would require, for example, that anyone repairing an air conditioner--on either a car or building--capture and recycle the refrigerant, one of the largest sources of chlorofluorocarbons (CFC).

“High-tech doesn’t necessarily mean low in toxic emissions,” said Irvine Mayor Larry Agran, co-author of the ordinance, who published a book in 1977 called “The Cancer Connection,” which details the chemical threat to blue-collar employees in the workplace.

“In fact, some of these very sophisticated high-technology procedures bring with them pollution problems that are qualitatively, as well as quantitatively, far more serious than what we encountered in older industrial establishments.”

Residents, business owners and corporate leaders will be able to voice their opinions on the ordinance at the first of two public hearings Thursday. One Irvine official predicted that the hearing “will be a gauge of private industry’s willingness to confront and deal with toxic emissions.”

There is plenty to confront in Orange County, according to data obtained by The Times from the state Office of Environmental Affairs, which collected emission levels for EPA. Under its 1986 “community right-to-know” law, the EPA requires major industrial facilities to file annual reports detailing types of and amounts of chemicals emitted. The first reporting period for the new law was 1987, and those numbers became available only recently. Figures from 169 Orange County companies for that year showed that:

* Orange County was second among California’s 58 counties in toxic air emissions. Only Los Angeles, with 44.7 million pounds of toxic air pollution, had more. Orange County was a distant second, with slightly more than 7 million pounds.

* Among Orange County cities, Brea and Irvine had the highest concentrations of toxic emissions. Brea had 1.57 million pounds; Irvine had 1.17 million pounds. Anaheim was third, with 1.15 million pounds.

* The single largest source of potentially toxic fumes was the Unocal Chemicals Division in Brea, where ammonia and urea are produced for the fertilizer industry. In 1987, nearly 1.3 million pounds of chemical substances, mostly ammonia, were released or escaped from the 35-year-old plant.

* Bentley Laboratories of Irvine, which manufactures breathing devices used in heart and lung surgeries, was second, releasing 799,200 pounds of pollutants from its plant, including ethylene oxide, a suspected carcinogen.

* The top three toxic fumes emitted in Orange County either contribute to smog or are known to damage the ozone layer. The substances--1,1,1-trichloroethane, ammonia and CFC 113 (Freon)--accounted for nearly 60% of all toxic releases in 1987.

* Four other toxins released in large quantities may pose a cancer risk. Styrene, perchloroethylene (also known as tetrachloroethylene), methylene chloride and toluene accounted for nearly 20% of the toxic air pollution reported by Orange County firms in 1987.

* More than half the reported pollutants came from “fugitive” emissions, fumes released straight into the atmosphere through ventilation systems or evaporation. The rest were released through smokestacks.

Reaction to the numbers varies, as do opinions on their relative importance.

“These raw numbers, which look large, are really meaningless,” said Dick Davis, executive director of the Chemical Industry Council of California. “But how do you explain that to a populace which, according to the latest reports, has a scientific literacy between 3 and 4%?”

While minimizing the potential health risk, Davis tried to deflect industry’s responsibility for part of the problem, pointing out that common household products, such as fingernail polish, also foul the atmosphere. Acetone, a widely used industrial solvent, and also a primary ingredient in fingernail polish, accounted for 648,000 pounds of emissions in Orange County in 1987, the fourth highest among compounds monitored at local companies.

“I’ll bet you there was at least that much acetone released in Orange County by women putting on fingernail polish,” Davis said. “So to point the finger solely at industry is totally unfair.”

Moreover, Davis contends there is no evidence to link cancer, birth defects or other health maladies to the current releases of chemical vapors from industry. “You simply can’t draw that conclusion at this point,” he said. “It’s not even fair to say there is any kind of threat. We just don’t know.”

But Carol Coy, senior enforcement manager for the air toxics control division of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, disagreed, saying, “Any amount of substances such as the toxics that are listed here pose a potential threat to the public.”

David Doniger, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said exposure to any amount of airborne chemical vapors should be viewed as a threat.

“With polluted water you have a choice; you can buy bottled water or drink juices,” Doniger said in a recent telephone interview from the New York headquarters of the nonprofit environmental group. “But there’s nothing you can do (about) the air you breathe. You’ve got to breathe it. That’s why any level of exposure is dangerous. And we’ve got to spread the word.”

Doniger’s group did just that last week with the release of a widely publicized report on 1,500 manufacturing plants that emitted any of 11 carcinogens or cancer-causing chemicals. The NRDC study was based on the same 1987 EPA data used to compute total chemical emissions. But Doniger said the NRDC dealt only with those 11 chemicals that EPA had pledged to begin monitoring in 1985, but has so far failed to do. Besides underscoring the public health risk posed by these toxins, Doniger said, the fact that EPA has not kept tabs on emission levels for these chemicals is “an indictment of EPA’s performance as an public regulator.”

Twelve Orange County companies were among those singled out by Doniger’s group. Aerochem Inc. of Orange topped the NRDC list of local firms for emissions, releasing 404,795 pounds in 1987 of the industrial solvent perchloroethylene. The aerospace parts manufacturer uses the solvent as an additive to make its paints more durable.

Matt Reid, Aerochem’s vice president of finance and administration, said that the company is aware of its emission problems and that it supports industry efforts to develop a less potent substitute for perchloroethylene, which is also commonly used by dry-cleaning businesses.

“If we could use water and achieve the same results, we would,” said Reid, whose firm produces spare parts for the space shuttle as well as military aircraft. “But the fact remains, we’ve found nothing that works better. We can’t simply stop using it.”

Driven by the economic reality of meeting a payroll while wishing to be “good neighbors,” some companies contend there is no simple solution to reducing toxic emissions.

“It’s a trade-off,” said Geoffrey Fenton, spokesman for Bentley Laboratories Inc., a division of Chicago-based Baxter Healthcare Corp. In 1987, the Irvine company had the second-highest level of chemical emissions, including ethylene oxide, a suspected carcinogen used to sterilize medical equipment produced by the company.

“Ethylene oxide is used to sterilize products that are so vital to human life,” Fenton said. “And yet, the very substance used to make products safe has been implicated” as a cancer risk.

Critical of Figures

Like others in industry, Fenton was critical of EPA’s 1987 emission figures because they do not reflect more recent modifications in plant operations aimed at containing or reducing chemical releases. At Bentley, for example, Fenton said 350,000 pounds of 1,1,1-trichloroethane were emitted in 1987. But company officials predict that less than 100,000 pounds of the powerful cleaning agent will be released into the atmosphere this year because the firm is generally reducing its use of solvents, such as 1,1,1-trichloroethane, as well as improving the plant’s ventilation system. Steps have also been taken to store solvents and other chemicals in bigger, more airtight containers, reducing the need for smaller storage drums, which have to be opened more often. Each time a drum is opened, a chemical vapor is released.

The invisible emissions threat now facing Orange County had its beginnings in the late 1950s, when industry gradually discovered the predominantly residential and agrarian county. Because the county’s broad flatlands offered ample room for new housing, large employers such as Hughes Aircraft and Northrop Corp., put large operations here. Other light manufacturers followed in the 1960s, and by the mid-1970s, the high-tech industrial boom was at full tilt.

“Orange County went from a largely agricultural region to one of the most industrialized metropolises in the U.S. in less than 35 years,” said Prof. Allen J. Scott, economic and urban geographer at UCLA. “It is now a major industrial region with all the environmental spillover it implies.”

For Unocal Chemicals Division in Brea, the county’s rapid growth already had encircled the 52-acre plant on Imperial Highway by 1985, when a serious ammonia spill occurred during the Labor Day holiday. A noxious cloud of colorless ammonia, which is produced at the plant as a fertilizer additive, drifted into several nearby neighborhoods. Although company officials said there were no serious injuries, they spent $250,000 on a sophisticated detection and alarm system on the plant perimeter to warn of major chemical releases, Unocal spokesman Barry Lane said.

“When the plant opened in 1954, there was nothing but fields out there,” Lane said. “Now there are houses everywhere. It’s not necessarily the best arrangement.”

Plant Will Close

Despite modifications to the plant, Unocal in 1987 was the county’s largest chemical emitter, mostly of ammonia fumes. But company officials announced last year that ammonia production will cease in August, and the plant ultimately will be closed in 1991 as Unocal scales back its production of chemical fertilizers.

Ironically, many of the toxins now contaminating the atmosphere were once embraced as safe, according to the AQMD’s Coy.

“A number of substances that were known to be very active in the formation of photochemical smog have been phased out over the years,” Coy said. “And they have been replaced by substances (that), although not playing an active role in smog, actually pose other toxic potential to living systems.”

To minimize the problem, the AQMD now requires most major companies to install containment devices to capture the bulk of toxic solvent fumes.

But the sheer volume of solvents and other chemicals used by Orange County companies still translates into tons of toxic air pollution each year. Said Coy: “Clearly, we’ve got to look for more efficient air pollution control devices.”

A CHEMICAL GLOSSARY Chemicals released in Orange County in the largest amounts during 1987. 1,1,1-Trichloroethane: 1,853,800 pounds Used as a cleaner in the electronics industry, this substance is low in toxicity and is not considered an immediate health threat. However, preliminary tests indicate that excessive concentrations may cause birth defects, miscarriages and infertility. It also damages the ozone. Ammonia: 1,367,200 pounds Primarily used as a commercial refrigerant, its main threat to public health is as an irritant and a contributor to smog. Long-term exposure to large doses may cause chronic health problems and environmental damage. CFC 113 (Freon): 914,600 pounds One of the family of chlorinated fluorocarbons, this substance eats away at the ozone and can linger in the environment for up to 100 years. Acetone: 648,000 pounds A solvent used as a cleaner by industry, acetone is also the primary ingredient in fingernail polish. In sufficiently large doses, it can cause long-term health effects and harm wildlife. Styrene: 508,800 pounds Used to make polystyrene plastic and fiberglass, it is a suspected carcinogen that state officials are considering for designation and regulation as a toxic air contaminant. It also is suspected of causing genetic damage, long-term health problems and environmental degradation. Tetrachloroethylene (Perchloroethylene): 491,600 pounds Mainly used as a cleaning agent in the dry-cleaning industry, this suspected carcinogen also is widely used as an industrial solvent. State officials also are considering designating it as a toxic air contaminant. Other effects of large doses may include birth defects and miscarriages,infertility, chronic health problems and damage to wildlife. Methylene Chloride: 239,000 pounds A non-flammable cleaner used on metal parts, it is a suspected carcinogen under review by state officials for designation as a toxic air contaminant. Methyl Ethyl Ketone: 195,800 pounds It is a paint stripper that, in excessive doses, is thought to cause birth defects and miscarriages, infertility, long-term health problems and nervous-system disorders. Toluene: 176,800 pounds A volatile industrial solvent, this suspected carcinogen also is suspected of causing birth defects, miscarriages, infertility and damage to wildlife. Xylene: 128,400 pounds Used in industrial paints and coatings, this highly volatile cleaner is, in some forms, deadly in small doses, as well as suspected of causing birth defects, miscarriages, genetic disorders and damage to the human nervous system. Sources: California Office of Environmental Affairs; the Chemical Industry Council of California ; Dr. George Alexeeff , chief of the air toxics unit in the state’s Department of Health Services. WHERE WE RANK Orange County’s ranking among California counties for 1987 toxic emissions.

County Amount in Pounds Los Angeles 44,732,000 Orange 7,042,000 Santa Clara 5,212,000 San Diego 5,030,000 Alameda 4,912,000 Contra Costa 3,494,000 San Bernardino 3,098,000 Riverside 1,864,000 Fresno 1,446,000 San Joaquin 1,292,000 Sacramento 1,264,000 Solano 1,188,000 Humboldt 1,030,000 Placer 1,010,000 Kern 860,000

Source: California Office of Environmental Affairs INDUSTRIAL TOXIC AIR EMISSIONS City by City Emission Breakdown Ranking of Orange County cities by 1987 industrial toxic air emissions. Cities not listed had no large industries reporting emissions for 1987.

City Pounds Brea 1,570,000 Irvine 1,173,000 Anaheim 1,154,200 Santa Ana 759,200 Fullerton 688,600 Huntington 438,400 Beach Newport 281,800 Beach La Habra 239,400 Costa Mesa 226,600 Buena Park 164,200 Tustin 131,200 Los 61,600 Alamitos Orange 40,600 La Palma 27,200 Westminster 24,600 Stanton 22,400 Garden 16,400 Grove Placentia 15,200 Fountain 6,000 Valley

ORANGE COUNTY FIRMS WITH THE LARGEST RELEASES OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES IN 1987

Company City Amount in Pounds Unocal Chemicals Division Brea 1,296,600 Bentley Laboratories Inc. Irvine 799,200 McDonnell Douglas Astronautics Huntington Beach 350,400 Kaynar Mfg. Microdot Aerospace Fullerton 263,200 Rockwell International Autonetics Anaheim 234,000 B.P. John Furniture Co. Santa Ana 225,000 Hessco Industries La Habra 221,000 Anaheim Manufacturing Anaheim 172,800 Philips Industries Anaheim 165,800 Kirkhill Rubber Co. Brea 159,200

Source: California Office of Environmental Affairs