Air Pollution, Sources
Re “Breathing Can Be Hazardous to Your Health,” Jan. 9.
Among the various polluters noted in this article were metal platers and our company, Coastal Multichrome Inc., was identified as posing an unacceptably high risk to neighbors. At face value this could be construed as pretty serious. Some facts would seem to be in order.
“Metal platers” may be an exaggeration. I believe ours may be the only metal plater under permit with the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District, and I know that we are the only one providing chromium plating.
The article stated that elimination of a solvent has reduced the risk. In fact, it removed about 80% of the 1995 risk.
The article noted that hexavalent gases persist at levels deemed potentially harmful to people living nearby, but neglected to state that nobody lives nearby. The potential affected area is composed of open fields, roadways, other industrial buildings and part of an agricultural chemical distribution facility.
Coastal Multichrome tests the chromium fume scrubbing equipment every two years. The tested emissions are between 0.16 and 0.6 pounds per year. Compared with the 34 tons per day of total pollutants and the combined one ton per day for all industrial emissions, an average of 0.0013 pounds per day translates to about 0.00000065% of total industrial air pollution and 1/34th of that percentage of the county’s total air pollution.
If there is a point to this it lies in the statement of David Roe of the Environmental Defense Fund, quoted in this article as saying “What jumps out at you is what a small part of the problem all those smokestack factories are.”
It just seems morally wrong, and certainly ineffective, to keep beating up on the manufacturers and job creators for our continuing air quality problems. Each reader of this article depends on vehicles for transportation, and each of those vehicles emits more pollutants than our facility. A little common sense would seem in order.
PETER FAXON
President
Coastal Multichrome Inc.
Camarillo
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