BOARD MEETING DATE: March 1, 2002
AGENDA NO. 12
Execute Contract to Conduct Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality Study in Mira Loma Area
SYNOPSIS:
A special PM2.5 program is being conducted by the University of California at Riverside's College of Engineering - Center for Environmental Research and Technology (UCR CE-CERT). The study includes chemical characterization of PM2.5 outdoors and within 20 homes and a school in the Mira Loma area. Mira Loma has been identified as the area with the highest ambient (outdoor) PM2.5 mass concentrations in the Basin. The total cost of the study is $360,000. The County of Riverside has awarded $310,000 to this project. This action is to execute a contract with CE-CERT for an amount not to exceed $35,000 and $15,000 in-kind AQMD technical analysis. Funds are available in the Clean Fuels Program.
COMMITTEE:
Technology, January 25, 2002, Recommended for Approval
RECOMMENDED ACTIONS:
- Authorize the Chairman to execute a contract with UCR CE-CERT to
conduct a particulate monitoring program at 20 homes and a school in the
Mira Loma area for an amount not to exceed $35,000 from the Clean Fuels
Fund (Fund 31). The county of Riverside has committed $310,000 to this
project.
- Approve AQMD staff to provide in-kind technical analytical services in an amount of $15,000.
Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.
Executive Officer
Background
Results from the ongoing Children’s Health Study (CHS) sponsored by CARB suggest that exposure to increased levels of particulates, NO2, and acid aerosols can lead to retarded lung function growth and other adverse health consequences in children. A recent air monitoring study in the Mira Loma area indicates that the area has the highest particulate levels measured in the Basin during that time period. Additionally, community members have voiced concerns about the increased number of warehouses in the area and the associated increase in diesel truck traffic and emissions. Diesel exhaust has been identified as a toxic contaminant by the CARB. Evaluations of health impacts in the Children’s Health Study were based exclusively on outdoor pollution measurements. An evaluation of time spent both indoors and outdoors shows that children typically spend less than 3 hours a day outdoors. Therefore, the majority of their exposure is to indoor air. However, no studies exist in the Mira Loma area which have concurrently characterized both indoor and outdoor air. To assess the air quality in the Mira Loma area, the County of Riverside is funding such a study to be conducted by CE-CERT. The study will take concurrent ambient air samples both indoors and outdoors at 20 homes and a number of classrooms in the Mira Loma area. The data will provide an indication of the relationships between indoor and outdoor air quality.
The total cost of the study is $360,000 and the County of Riverside has committed $310,000. An additional $50,000 needed to complete the study is requested of the AQMD. The AQMD portion of the funding is proposed to be in the form of a $35,000 grant, and $15,000 in-kind AQMD support in the form of metals analysis of collected particulate filters.
Proposal
The study will assess the impact of outdoor PM2.5 on indoor air quality within the Mira Loma area. Co-located sampling arrays will be placed at various locations. These will include inside and outside 20 residences and at Jurupa Valley High School in classrooms and one located outside the school. Sampling will be conducted on an every-other-day basis with 24-hour integrated samples collected for a period of two weeks per site.
The chemical composition of the PM2.5 at each site will be broken into several major subgroups including elemental carbon (a surrogate for diesel exhaust), organic carbon, trace metals, ammonium, chloride, sulfate, and nitrate. This chemical breakdown will enable CE-CERT to make estimations of the percentage contribution of aerosol in the Mira Loma area, both inside and outside the homes and school, attributable to diesel, agriculture, residential sources, and marine influences. Several other pollutants will also be measured. These include formaldehyde, ammonia, and nitric acid.
Benefits to the AQMD
Results from this project will provide a clearer picture of the potential impacts to health from alterations in air quality related to land use and diesel fuel combustion. The proposed project is included under the March 2001 update of the Technology Advancement Plan under Project CFE-3 – "Evaluation of Benefits and Emission Inventory Impact of Advanced Mobile Controls."
The Clean Fuels Program has been active in facilitating the implementation of advanced technologies and clean fuels in the transportation sector within the Advanced Technology Office. Information from this project will help to better assess the health benefits of reducing emissions from employing these technologies.
Sole Source Justification
Section VII.B.2 of the Procurement Policy and Procedure identified four major provisions under which a sole source award may be justified. This request for sole source award is made under B.2.d(1) and (8). Under B.2.d: Other circumstances exist which in the determination of the Executive Officer require such waiver in the best interest of the AQMD. Specifically, under B.3.d.(1), the project involves cost sharing by multiple sponsors. In this case, the County of Riverside is co-funding the research effort. Under B.2.d.(8), the research is being conducted by the University of California, Riverside, College of Engineering, an educational institution.
UCR’s College of Engineering Center for Environmental Research and Engineering (CE-CERT) was founded in 1992 as a model for partnerships among industry, government and academia. CE-CERT is now recognized as a leader in improving the scientific and technical bases for regulations and policy in the field of air quality.
Resource Impacts
The total amount for this project is $360,000, of which $310,000 is being co-funded by Riverside County. The AQMD portion of $50,000 is proposed in two parts, a $35,000 grant and $15,000 in-kind AQMD analytical support. Sufficient funds are available in the FY 2001-02 Clean Fuels Budget. The Clean Fuels Fund was established as a special revenue fund resulting from the state-mandated Clean Fuels Program. The Clean Fuels Program, under Health and Safety Code Sections 40448.5 and 40512 and Vehicle Code Section 9250.11, establishes mechanisms to collect revenues from mobile sources to support projects to increase the utilization of clean fuels, including the development of the necessary advanced enabling technologies. Funds collected from motor vehicles are restricted, by statute, to be used for projects and program activities related to mobile sources that support the objectives of the Clean Fuels Program.
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