COUNTYWIDE : Hearings to Look at Cancer Risk Levels

Three public hearings are scheduled today to determine what constitutes a significant increased risk of cancer for residents who live near industrial toxic emissions sources, to set fees for polluters and to identify the most harmful chemicals.

The Ventura County Board of Supervisors will discuss recommendations made in a report by the county’s Air Pollution Control District during the hearings, which will take place during the normal board meeting beginning at 10 a.m.

The district has recommended that the county set the level of significance at 10 additional cases of cancer due to toxic emissions for every 1 million people. The additional cases that would result from the toxic emissions are based on exposure 24 hours a day for 70 years.

If the standard is adopted, 446 residents of 136 homes near eight companies would be notified that they have an increased risk of cancer from nearby toxic emissions.

The board has also considered a proposal to lower the cancer-risk significance level to one in a million. If that proposal is adopted, about 57,000 residents in more than 23,000 homes near 18 businesses would be notified of possible cancer risks, according to the report.

Air pollution district officials cautioned that the cancer risk of most county residents from industrial emissions is minimal.

However, the program, known as Air Toxics Hot Spots, is required by state law and is part of a spate of public right-to-know statutes passed at the state and national levels.