Los Angeles Air Quality Taken to the Cleaners

Re “AQMD Puts Off Ban on Solvent,” Nov. 2: There’s a chemical that could harm me every time I go into a dry cleaner. There are alternative ways to clean clothes that are safe for workers and consumers and profitable for cleaners. And the South Coast Air Quality Management District can’t decide whether to phase the poison out ... 17 years from now? With this kind of leadership, no wonder L.A.’s air is still the dirtiest in the nation. I hope the clean-air board shows some courage and gets rid of perchloroethylene. And I hope some enterprising cleaners out my way switch to wet cleaning long before the 17-year deadline kicks in. When they do, they’ll have my business.

Johanna Smith

Pomona