Air Board OKs New Limits on Pollution in Harbor Area

Air quality regulators took a major step toward cleaning up the harbor environment Friday by approving a comprehensive package of measures to reduce potentially hazardous emissions of coal, petroleum coke and sulfur at industrial sites in the county’s ports.

The decision by the South Coast Air Quality Management District board came as a relief to harbor-area residents and workers who have been trying for years to cut air pollution from cargo terminals, oil refineries and petroleum coke storage areas.

The 11-member board voted 8 to 0 to approve a host of measures, which might cost businesses up to $65 million to implement at sites located mostly in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Three board members were absent.

“This represents 2 1/2 years of work with industry and the harbor community,” said Carol Coy, a high-ranking AQMD official who oversaw development of the regulations. “We have crafted a lasting solution to a long-standing problem.”

AQMD officials said the requirements passed Friday build on existing rules that have not been effective in substantially reducing airborne particles of coal, petroleum coke and sulfur.

The new measures focus primarily on petroleum coke, a byproduct of the refinery process that can be used as a fuel for heating and industrial purposes. Much of it is exported to Asia.

Fine particles of the material can aggravate respiratory illnesses such as asthma, emphysema, bronchitis and pneumonia. Medical studies have repeatedly shown a link between elevated levels of particulate matter and deaths of people with respiratory or heart disease.

Among other things, the new rules require cargo terminals and companies that handle petroleum coke to enclose conveyors, loading facilities and storage areas. Trucks that haul the material must be covered.

The regulations also call for wind screens, cleanup programs and paved roads to allow the removal of spilled materials at companies that handle coke, coal and sulfur.

“This is a great accomplishment for harbor-area residents. Finally, we are going to have safe air,” said Gertrude Schwab, a local activist and president of the Wilmington North Neighborhood Assn.

AQMD officials say that terminal operators, shipping companies, storage facilities and refineries have until the end of 2002 to comply with the regulations. The schedule is a compromise between industry, which had sought a five-year time frame, and the district staff, which wanted a two-year period.

During the compliance phase, AQMD officials will monitor emissions twice a year. They will hold a community meeting in 18 months to assess the impact of the regulations.

The new rules affect about 30 facilities that handle, transport and store petroleum coke, coal and sulfur; 23 are located in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

The AQMD estimates that all the facilities emit 334 tons a year of fine particulates that can be inhaled and 1,345 tons a year of larger particles that soil boats, buildings and other property.

If the new rules are effective, AQMD officials say, annual emissions of fine particulates will be cut by 265 tons and the larger particles by 1,047 tons.

Board members voted after hearing more than an hour of public testimony from industry, labor organizations, environmental groups and harbor-area residents, some of whom brought samples of coal and coke dust collected from their homes.

“When we moved to Long Beach nine months ago, we thought we had reached heaven,” said Edna Bruce, who grew up in a West Virginia coal mining town and now lives in a high-rise condominium.

“After two weeks, I began to notice the dust,” she said holding up a small plastic bag. “It looked like coal dirt.”

Long Beach City Councilman Ray Grabinski called for the board to pass the new requirements, saying that schoolchildren in his district are repeatedly exposed to petroleum coke from the adjacent harbor.

“This is like sweeping up after an elephant. We need to make the bad boys do something,” Grabinski said. “We need to do something about this witch’s brew in the air.”

With a couple of exceptions, industry representatives said they generally supported the new rules, although they have been concerned about the cost and effectiveness of the new measures as well as the deadline for compliance.

William A. Zobel, director of legislative and regulatory affairs for Arco Products Co., said the new rules will cost his company $8 million to $12 million up front and increase operating costs $2 million to $5 million a year.

“These rules will be expensive for industry and a challenge to implement,” said Al Garnier, executive vice president of Metropolitan Stevedore Co., which handles shipments of petroleum coke, coal and sulfur in the Port of Long Beach.