Proposed New Smog Rules Would Trigger More Alerts

Smog alerts would be called increasingly in the Los Angeles Basin and for the first time in recent history in other California cities under a recommendation by state air quality officials to lower the threshold at which health warnings are issued.

The staff proposal, which is expected to be approved by the California Air Resources Board in September, is based on growing medical evidence that smog harms sensitive individuals, including children, at lower levels than previously believed. Standards for the more severe second- and third-stage alerts would not be changed.

Business leaders complain that the move may hurt California’s economy and even hamper employee recruitment. If approved by the board, the new standards would sharply accelerate the number of days in the four-county South Coast air basin during which the elderly, children and the ailing are advised to remain indoors and refrain from exercise.

In other regions, including Fresno, Bakersfield, Sacramento and parts of the Bay Area, the smog alerts would be a new and potentially unsettling experience.

“I think it will be a shock, quite a shock” for these other cities, said Carl Pope, the San Francisco-based conservation director for the Sierra Club.

California air quality staff members will recommend that the board lower the level at which first-stage alerts are called from 0.2 molecules of smog-forming ozone per one million molecules of air to 0.15 p.p.m. The pollution level must persist for at least one hour. The lowered number is based on a recommendation from the state Department of Health Services. If approved, the new standard probably would take effect late this year.

During alerts, schools are advised to curtail strenuous outdoor physical education activities, and individuals with respiratory and heart ailments who experience discomfort are urged to consult their physicians. Sensitive individuals may suffer shortness of breath when smog reaches alert levels, and long-term health damage may result from chronic exposure.

Children are considered particularly vulnerable during exercise because they inhale primarily through their mouths, giving smog a direct route to the lungs, and their breathing rate is faster than that of adults. Youngsters also absorb more pollution relative to their weight, and their immune systems are less developed than those of adults.

The elderly are susceptible because of the natural aging of their lungs and because the immune system breaks down with age.

If the proposed lower thresholds had been in effect during the past three years, first-stage alerts would have occurred an average of 127 times a year instead of 67 in Los Angeles County, 29 times instead of seven in Orange County, 19 instead of once in San Diego, 83 instead of 20 in Riverside and 119 instead of 51 in San Bernardino.

Smog alerts have not occurred in much of the rest of the state for the past decade because air quality generally has improved.

The state board, made up of four members of local air pollution districts and five appointed by the governor, has not yet reviewed the staff report. Staff members say board approval is likely.

“We have had three workshops with the air districts around the state, with the general public, school officials and other interested people, and I don’t see any objection--not, at least, any strong objection to it,” said John Holmes, research director for the board.

“New health evidence on the effects of ozone, particularly on children, really does argue fairly strongly for this,” Holmes added. “I would say that the justification is there, certainly.”

Board member John Lagarias, an air pollution engineer, said in an interview that he believes lowering the standard probably “is the right way to be going.”

“I think it’s prudent to inform people that this is an issue that they should be aware of, and then they have to make their own judgment as to what the trade-offs are if they continue to expose themselves,” Lagarias said. “One of the biggest criticisms of public agencies is that they don’t inform people of a situation or its significance.”

Board member Roberta Hughan, the mayor of Gilroy, said she needs to review the staff report before making up her mind.

“In general, I would say that for anybody who is particularly sensitive to air pollutants, this will give them a better warning of problems they might have,” Hughan said. “The problem with it is that people won’t hear the part about it being a lowered standard. They’ll just think the air is getting worse, and that is too bad.”

The stricter standards worry industry precisely for that reason. Business often is asked to carry the burden in reducing air pollution, and more smog alerts could mean added pressure on industry to clean up emissions.

Richard J. Stegemeier, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Unocal Corp., said he believes the emphasis should be on vehicle emissions rather than on smog alerts.

“I don’t know what it accomplishes,” he said of the proposal. “Air quality hasn’t changed because we have changed the alert level. . . . If we are trying to scare people, you will probably scare people away. If our air is said to be unhealthy, then it will obviously be a deterrent to new employment.”

Ray Remy, president of the Los Angeles Area of Chamber of Commerce, worries that more alerts could hurt Southern California convention business and tourism.

“I think it gives a misleading message because it will appear from the way it is reported that our air quality is getting worse. . . . You can get some negative images of Southern California or the state of California,” Remy said.

But James Thornton, senior attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said recent advances in the medical understanding of smog’s effects justify lowering the threshold.

“The fact that you will get more smog alerts in other parts of the state is a good thing because it will point out to people what the facts really are,” Thornton said. “I think we all have become a little hardened to the levels we have been dealing with.”

Pope, of the Sierra Club, agreed.

“People do keep their children indoors (during alerts) and that does some good,” the environmentalist said. “We should not . . . not warn parents because it’s going to scare off executives.”

During second-stage alerts, industries are advised to activate car-pooling plans for employees, and some businesses are required to reduce emissions by as much as 20%. Third-stage alerts require industry shutdowns.

James Lents, executive officer of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, said second-stage alerts occurred only a handful of times during the 1980s, and a third-stage alert has not been called since the 1970s. He said the district would support a lowered threshold for first-stage alerts if it is based on health data.

“We have argued all along that standards and alerts ought to be set where people get hurt, not at what is cost-effective,” Lents said. “Whether we can meet the levels or not, people need to know when smog is harming them.”

SMOG ALERTS

The three stages of smog alerts:

First-stage smog alerts now are called when the pollution reaches .2 molecules of ozone per 1 million molecules of air for an hour. The staff of the California Air Resources Board has recommended lowering the standard to .15 p.p.m. During first-stage alerts, the elderly, children and individuals with heart and respiratory ailments are advised to remain indoors and refrain from strenuous physical exercise.

A second-stage alert is called when ozone reaches .35 p.p.m. During second-stage alerts, businesses are required to put into effect car-pooling plans for employees, and some industries are ordered to reduce emissions by as much as 20%. The health advisory applies to everyone. This standard will remain unchanged.

A third-stage alert is called when the ozone level reaches .5 p.p.m. for an hour. During such an alert, many industries are required to shut down. The warning, according to John Holmes, research director of the California Air Resources Board, is “Don’t go out unless it is absolutely necessary.” A third-stage alert has not occurred since the 1970s. This standard will also remain unchanged.

Ozone is an irritating gas with a strong pungent odor that can kill or severely damage cells. It is produced in the atmosphere as a result of a photochemical reaction.