3M Tops List of Air Polluters in County : Environment: An EPA report says the company emitted 573,200 pounds of toxic chemicals in 1988--more than all other industries combined.

Camarillo’s 3M plant is the leading producer of toxic chemical emissions in Ventura County, according to a newly released report by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The plant released more toxic chemicals into the air than all other industries in the county combined in 1988, the most recent year covered by the EPA report.

The 1988 figures mark the second year in a row that 3M came out on top of the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory, which includes 29 Ventura County companies.

The EPA report said 3M emitted 573,200 pounds of toxic chemicals into the air in 1988, up from 426,000 pounds the year before.

The 1988 emissions represented more than half of the 1.2 million pounds of toxic chemical emissions released in the county by all 29 companies.

Larry Thomason, 3M Camarillo plant manager, said the plant on Lewis Road has not reduced emissions since 1988. He added that it plans to install $6 million worth of equipment that will reduce emissions by 76% over two years, beginning in October.

Thomason said the company is voluntarily instituting the emission reduction measures, partly to improve the company’s public image.

“At some point, if we are not viewed as environmentally sensitive, consumers will stop buying our products,” he said. 3M produces computer tape in Camarillo but also makes popular products such as Scotch tape at other facilities.

Methyl ethyl ketone, the primary constituent of 3M’s emissions, is not considered a carcinogen, a state health official said this week. However, the EPA says it may be linked to birth defects and can damage the central nervous system, producing headaches, nausea and blurred vision, depending on the level of exposure.

The EPA issued the Toxic Release Inventory for 1988 in compliance with federal legislation passed in 1987 that requires companies that use or store any of 324 toxic chemicals to report to regulating agencies.

Second on the EPA’s list of top toxic polluters for the county is Wambold Furniture in Simi Valley, with 145,000 pounds of the suspected human carcinogen trichloroethane emissions. Third is Rockwell’s Rocketdyne division in the Simi Hills with 135,009 pounds of toxic emissions, 106,791 of which are the suspected carcinogens trichloroethane and trichloroethylene.

Wambold officials could not be reached for comment, but Rocketdyne officials said the company has already installed equipment to reduce its use of toxic chemicals, which are used as solvents to wash missile engines.

Pat Coulter, director of communications for Rocketdyne, said the company reduced emissions of trichloroethane 10% in 1989, plans to do the same for 1990 and will continue to reduce emissions until they reach zero.

Coulter added that the company recovers and reuses 85% of the trichloroethylene that it previously used only once before disposal. In the meantime, the company is researching nontoxic alternative materials, he said.

Other companies in the top 10 on the Ventura County list are:

* Pac Foundries in Camarillo, 57,450 pounds of emissions.

* Arco Solar Inc. in Camarillo, 38,400 pounds.

* GE Plastics in Oxnard, 35,002 pounds.

* Parker Metal Bellows in Moorpark, 31,000 pounds.

* Hydro Systems Inc. in Simi Valley, 28,700 pounds.

* PTI Technologies Inc. in Newbury Park, 25,348 pounds.

* Northrop Corp. of Newbury Park, 17,200 pounds.

Richard Baldwin, Ventura County air pollution control officer, said officials do not yet have enough information on how the emissions affect the health of people who live in surrounding areas.

Factors such as distance from the source and wind conditions must be known before officials can determine individual levels of exposure, Baldwin said.

Ventura County companies judged as posing potential risks to their neighbors must complete a formal assessment of risks by May, 1991, officials said. The requirement is part of a county program to reduce emissions that contribute to the formation of smog.