BOARD MEETING DATE: May 19, 2000 AGENDA NO. 15

Traditionally, perchloroethylene (PCE) has been the most common solvent used for dry cleaning. However, due to its potential health and environmental risks that have become known in recent years, PCE has been classified as a probable carcinogen by the International Association for Research on Cancer, a hazardous air pollutant in the 1990 Clean Air Act, and a toxic air contaminant by AQMD and California Air Resources Board. In addition, PCE has been detected in groundwater at several Super Fund sites which, in turn, has escalated the liability risks to ongoing dry cleaning operations and to owners of shopping malls where such operations are located.

One option to eliminate or reduce the health and environmental risks associated with PCE is a water-based garment cleaning technology called professional wet cleaning. This cleaning method is a process for cleaning sensitive textiles (e.g., wool, silk, rayon, linen) in water followed by appropriate drying and restorative finishing processing. The cleaning takes place in equipment consisting of computer controlled washers and dryers. The computers in washers precisely control the degree of mechanical action imposed on the garments, cleaning time, fluid levels, temperature, extraction, chemical injection, and drum rotation. The dryer incorporates a residual moisture or humidity control to prevent over-drying of garments.

In the past, AQMD has co-funded two projects pertaining to the professional wet cleaning technology. The first professional wet cleaning facility in the Basin, known as "Cleaner by Nature," was opened in Santa Monica in 1996. In the first project (Phase I), AQMD co-funded a study with the Pollution Prevention Education and Research Center (PPERC) at UCLA for a comprehensive 12-month evaluation of the technical, environmental, energy, and economic feasibility of professional wet cleaning operations at "Cleaner by Nature." In the second project (Phase II) that AQMD co-funded, affiliated PPERC at Occidental College disseminated the results of the earlier "Cleaner by Nature" study to the dry cleaning community, and coordinated the conversion of a PCE-dry cleaner to wet cleaner. US EPA, a co-sponsor of the project, contributed funds for the purchase of the professional wet cleaning equipment. As a result of this project, the second wet cleaner in the Basin, "Cypress Plaza Cleaners," was established in Cypress in 1998. These two wet cleaners have been used as demonstration sites to increase the awareness of dry cleaners and other stakeholders regarding the wet cleaning technology.

However, the dry cleaning industry has not yet embraced this technology to a noticeable degree. There are still only two cleaners in the Basin using this technology for all of their garment cleaning operations. Possible barriers to acceptance include dry cleaners’ lack of familiarity with this technology, skepticism about process quality and equipment durability, and concern over garment care warranties. Staff believes that two demonstration sites are not sufficient or conveniently accessible to approximately 3,075 dry cleaners in the Basin to gain sufficient knowledge about this technology. To promote this non-polluting technology, more effort is warranted to make this technology known to as many dry cleaners in the Basin as possible.

PPERC at Occidental College has submitted a proposal to convert up to eight existing commercial PCE-dry cleaners to commercial professional wet cleaners, and use them as demonstration sites to enhance the exposure and acceptance of this technology among the dry cleaners and the other stakeholders. The conversion of 8 eight dry cleaners to professional wet cleaning will be achieved by providing training, technical support and a total of $100,000 as monetary incentive to the selected cleaners. The monetary incentive will be used only as matching funds to purchase the wet cleaning equipment. The proposed project includes educational workshops, selection of eight cleaners for conversion to wet cleaning, technical assistance and monetary incentives to the selected cleaners, and an evaluation of the conversions.

The purpose of the educational workshops is to expose the dry cleaners to the wet cleaning technology and inform them about the objectives of the proposed project, including the monetary incentive program. The educational workshops will be held at the two existing professional wet cleaners in the region – "Cleaner by Nature" and "Cypress Plaza Cleaners."

All applications for conversion and monetary incentives will be evaluated based on a selection criteria which will include factors such as the qualifications, level of dedication toward the project objectives, and the location of the cleaner. The selection will ensure that the new demonstration sites are located throughout the Basin to maximize easy access of dry cleaners to these facilities. This convenience of easy access will encourage the neighborhood dry cleaners to visit these facilities more frequently and become more familiar with wet cleaning technology.

The selected recipients will be provided technical assistance to select the most appropriate equipment, obtain additional financing for the remaining portion of equipment purchase, receive personalized training, trouble-shoot operational problems, and develop a social marketing plan to market the cleaner as a community-oriented, environmentally friendly business.

After the successful establishment and operation of the new demonstration sites, a comprehensive evaluation of the project will be conducted which will include the effectiveness of the educational outreach program, comparative technical and financial analysis of wet cleaning and PCE-dry cleaning for each new site, attitude of the new wet cleaners toward the wet cleaning process, and the potential impact of the project on general commercialization of the wet cleaning technology.

The proposed project is included in the March 2000 update of the Technology Advancement Plan under Project 2000S3-5, "Advanced Technologies as Alternatives to Dry-Cleaning." If eight new demonstration sites are established and successfully operated in different parts of the Basin, it may courage many existing PCE-dry cleaners and the potential new cleaners to choose professional wet cleaning. The projected Basin PCE emission inventory is estimated to be 4.2 tons per day. The conversion to wet cleaning will substantially reduce PCE emissions, thereby, decreasing the adverse health impacts of PCE on the general public and the garment cleaning industry workers. The PCE emission reduction due to the conversion of eight dry cleaners is estimated to be 22 pounds per day. Textile and garment manufacturers could consider including in their garment labels the wet cleaning option along with the traditional dry cleaning instruction. Owners of shopping malls could come to favor wet cleaning over PCE cleaning to reduce potential liability.

Section VIII.B.2 of the Procurement Policy and Procedure identifies four major provisions under which a sole source award may be justified. Specifically, this request for a sole source award to PPERC at Occidental College is made under provision B.2.c.1: The desired services are available from only the sole-source based upon the unique experience and capabilities of the proposed contractor or contractor team.

The proposed project includes several elements that provide it with unique potential. The proposal includes several key participants from the previous successful demonstration wet cleaning projects who are well-acquainted with professional wet cleaning, have established excellent contacts within the dry cleaning industry at both national and local levels, and are, therefore, uniquely qualified to execute this project. These participants are listed below:

Under the direction of Professor Robert Gottlieb and Peter Sinsheimer, the PPERC at UCLA and at Occidental College has conducted numerous studies and analysis associated with the wet cleaning demonstrations, which included Phase I and Phase II of the proposed project. These projects included technical, environmental, economic and energy evaluation of both wet cleaning and dry cleaning operations. Consequently, PPERC research associates are thoroughly acquainted with professional wet cleaning and thus uniquely qualified to address the myriad of detailed questions that may arise during the proposed project. In addition, PPERC has established valuable contacts within the dry cleaning industry at both the local and national level. PPERC has become part of the Professional Wet Cleaning Partnership (PWCP), a coalition of major national dry cleaning trade associations.

Korean Youth and Community Center (KYCC). KYCC is an innovative organization committed to serving the needs of the Korean American and the multi-ethnic Koreatown population. It is the largest Korean American non-profit organization in the United States, and serves as a valuable source for the target population and the community at large. KYCC collaborated with PPERC for both Phase I and Phase II of the proposed project, and has strong contacts among the local Korean dry cleaners who make up from 50-70% of the local dry cleaning community. KYCC has extensive experience with providing business assistance, including assistance in dry cleaning issues.

Deborah Davis is the founder and owner of "Cleaner by Nature." She will take an active role in conducting educational workshops and training of grant recipients. She has acquired a breadth of knowledge of wet cleaning since she started using this technology at "Cleaner by Nature" in 1996. She conducted tours of "Cleaner by Nature" for stakeholders and dry cleaners during Phase II of the proposed project.

Joe Whang is the founder and owner of Cypress Plaza Cleaners. He will be directly involved in conducting educational workshops and training program for the proposed project. During Phase II of proposed project, in April 1998, "Cypress Plaza Cleaners" switched from operating dry clean equipment to operating wet cleaning equipment to clean its customers’ garments. Since then, this cleaner has been used as a demonstration site.

Total cost of this proposed project is $331,798. AQMD’s contribution shall not exceed $242,798 in funds. The co-sponsors’ contributions will total $80,000 in funds and $9,000 in in-kind contribution. The breakdown of the cosponsors and estimated support is as follows:

Contributor	Cash	In-kind
AQMD	$242,798
US EPA	15,000
California Wellness Foundation	50,000
Occidental College		$9,000
Liberty Hill	15,000	-
	$322,798	$9,000
Total			$331,798

Sufficient funds are available from the Advanced Technology Fund. This fund was established as a special revenue fund for revenues received as a result of fines, penalties, and settlements from air pollution violations. These settlement payments by the violators are to be used by the AQMD to support the development and demonstration of advanced technologies, and the assessment of resulting emissions benefits.