KING CASE AFTERMATH: A CITY IN CRISIS : A Pall Over the City : Fires Fill the Air With Dangerous Fumes and Dust Particles That Can Carry Toxic Materials

In the days since the verdicts in the Rodney G. King beating case, thousands of fires set by rioters are fouling the air to a noticeable degree in a city that is already the nation’s most polluted.

The gray-orange pall that has limited flights at Los Angeles International Airport and brought early dusk to the city also could bring health troubles to sufferers of asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, physicians and environmental authorities warn.

“We’ve got enough smog in Los Angeles,” King himself said in a brief public appeal for peace Friday, “let alone to deal with the setting of these fires and things.”

Air-quality authorities say the usual culprit--ground-level ozone--is not violating federal standards, but soot and smoke pushed the air pollution index near unhealthful levels in the central Los Angeles area on Thursday. As the pace of arsons slowed on Friday and a sea breeze swept in, the situation eased.

Of particular concern are fine dust particles that can carry toxics deep into the lungs--and in the immediate vicinities of the fires, the toxic substances themselves.

At 59th Street and Vermont Avenue, for example, a Sherwin-Williams paint store smoldered and burst into flame periodically Friday. The merchandise could be sending all manner of harmful chemicals, from hydrochloric acid to chromium, into the air, said Paula Levy, a spokeswoman for the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

At other burning shops, dry cleaning solvents, car batteries, plastic wrappings and other commonplace materials are releasing poisonous and, in some cases, cancer-causing fumes into the haze.

“It’s not like Kuwait where you had burning oil wells putting some pretty heavy raw stuff into the air for a long period of time,” said Jim Jenal, Southern California clean-air director for Citizens for a Better Environment.

“But if you’ve got 2,000 fires in mostly commercial buildings, you’re going to have some toxics exposure.”

No one can calculate whether lasting harm will be done to those inhaling the smoke. “It makes us nervous, God knows,” said Paul Papanek of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.

If the neighborhood smells like a chimney, Papanek said, it is best to avoid vigorous exercise and it is preferable to stay indoors. Asthmatics may want to take additional precautions.

The effect of the fires was most marked on Thursday, said Kevin Durkee, an AQMD meteorologist.

At 1 p.m., an AQMD monitor on Main Street in downtown Los Angeles recorded fine dust levels at 80 micrograms per cubic meter. At 2 p.m., the level rose to 157. At 3 p.m., it reached 234. The day’s peak, at 4 p.m., was 449.

On a similar day without fires, Durkee said, the peak would have been expected to stay under 100 micrograms.

Still, the 24-hour average, 115.5, was well below the federal standard of 150 micrograms per cubic meter. There are no hourly standards, Durkee said, because it is unclear how much fine dust is harmful over such a short period.

Some of the smoke obviously traveled, Durkee said. The Azusa monitoring station recorded a peak of 292 micrograms per cubic meter Thursday, though the average was only 92.3. “The sea breeze carried this stuff,” he said.

Friday’s peak downtown was much lower, 84 micrograms, Durkee said.

The microscopic dust particles are rarely a problem in Los Angeles County. But in the Inland Empire, they often reach levels comparable to what the fires have wrought nearer the coast.

For example, Rubidoux, in Riverside County, had a peak last year of 520 micrograms per cubic meter, Durkee said, and Fontana, in San Bernardino County, has reached 475.

Hospitals have not noted large numbers of asthmatics in emergency rooms. But that could be misleading, said Lawrence D. Robinson Jr., director of allergy and immunology at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center.

“They may just not be able to get transportation,” he said. “We may see people die from asthma because they don’t get the proper care. And most of the drugstores and other medical services near the fires are not going to be open.”

Robinson was at Howard University’s hospital in Washington during the riots following the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination in 1968. “At that time, we did see people coming in for asthma, but Washington is smaller,” he said. “And West Coast people don’t walk anyway.”

Asthma symptoms also may build up for several days after exposures, so there may yet be hospitalizations due to the riots, said Dennis Shusterman, a physician with the California Environmental Protection Agency who has studied the effects of smoke inhalation.

After the Oakland-Berkeley fire last year, the single largest cause of hospitalization was acute asthma attacks induced by smoke, he said. Asthmatics accounted for 16 of 43 hospitalizations, Shusterman said.

A week after the fire, an asthmatic was admitted to a hospital due to the smoke breathed earlier, he added.

“Asthmatics tend to compensate for a couple of days,” he said.

(Orange County Edition) Controlling Traffic Over L.A. Skies

During a crisis, a controller at Los Angeles International Airport issues traffic advisories for helicopters above Los Angeles. Operational guideline allows for six helicopters over any one543715188Circling speed: 35-50 m.p.h.--Pilots remain in an area as long as they can keep a safe distance from each other, and can maintain visual and radio contact. TV News Helicopters: Can generally fly two to three hours, or 600 miles, without refueling. Average speed: 100 m.p.h. Are generally three-seaters with the camera operator behind the pilot. The camera is set on a special fluid seat mounting to reduce camera movement and allow steady images of activity on the ground. TV, commercial helicopters fly at 500-1,000 feet Police helicopters fly from surface to 1,000 feet Source: Federal Aviation Administration; Hiser Helicopter Inc.; Helistream Inc.

Researched by APRIL JACKSON / Los Angeles Times