Breathing in a problem
SUSAN GORDON; The News Tribune
When federal officials announced a new limit on soot under the Clean Air Act eight months ago, attention focused on Tacoma’s South End, where a permanent air quality monitor had recorded a history of pollution.
But now the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, which regulates Tacoma-area polluters, has concluded that the city’s dirty winter air isn’t exclusive to a single neighborhood, or even confined to Tacoma.
“We’re thinking more broadly now,” said Dave Kircher, the agency’s manager of air resources.
Under federal law, the state Department of Ecology, in cooperation with regional air agencies, has until Dec. 18 to identify Washington communities unlikely to meet the new standard.
Besides the Tacoma area, Yakima and Vancouver, Wash., are likely to fall short, said Kim Schmanke, an Ecology Department spokeswoman.
If federal officials designate Tacoma as a “non- attainment area,” the Clean Air Agency could have until 2011 to put together a plan to improve air quality. The deadline for compliance with the federal Environmental Protection Agency regulation is 2015.
Last fall, Puget Sound Clean Air Agency officials set up four temporary air-quality monitoring stations in the South End, East Side, South Tacoma and Lakewood. They operated for six months, until March 1.
It’s worth pointing out that the federal standard is based on a three-year average, not just six months. And Tacoma’s summer air quality is ordinarily pretty good, Kircher said.
But if last winter’s outcome held true for three years, the average concentrations of soot recorded at five sites would exceed the new federal limits, officials said. The worst results came from one of two permanent monitors – the one on South L Street, located behind the South End Neighborhood Center and near Birney Elementary School.
“We have a much better sense of the geographic area than we did before,” Kircher said last week when he presented the outcome to members of the South End Neighborhood Council. “Even though South L might be the highest site, it’s not unique.”
Experts don’t know the boundaries of the air pollution problem. And while they suspect that wood-burning stoves contribute to it, they don’t know to what extent.
“We obviously want to know more about the winter months,” Kircher said. “It’s important to look at everything that contributes to the concentrations and not jump to conclusions.”
Leaders of the South End council, who initially criticized Clean Air Agency officials for making hasty judgments about the pollution sources, said they are pleased with the agency’s commitment to solutions.
“We want clean air,” said Fred Brookshier, vice chairman. “We want to make sure it’s done right.”
EPA SET NEW STANDARD
In September 2006, the federal Environmental Protection Agency cut by nearly half the allowed daily concentration of fine particles that irritate lungs, harm hearts and cause early death.
The change applies to particles 2.5 micrometers across, about one-thirtieth the size of a human hair. The specks are so small that they bypass barriers in the nose and bury themselves deep in the lungs.
Children are particularly vulnerable to this type of pollution because they typically breathe in 50 percent more air than adults, health officials say. Particulate pollution triggers asthma, a significant problem in Washington, where the rate of childhood asthma is 8.7 percent, compared to 5.9 percent nationwide.
Testing this past winter in and around Tacoma confirmed previous evidence that particulate pollution soars when temperature inversions trap pollution near the ground. The worst pollution was recorded after the December windstorm, which knocked out electrical power for several days and forced many people to find alternative sources of heat.
Experts at the Clean Air Agency and the state Department of Ecology also believe there’s correlation between peak periods of pollution and wood-burning stoves. The latest results support that, and while the Ecology Department last year began collecting soot samples from the South L site, analysis has not begun.
“There’s a unique fingerprint from wood smoke. There’s a unique fingerprint from diesel soot. Diesel, for example, emits elemental carbon, so we can tell depending on the time of day what are the sources,” Kircher said.
The first round of source testing might start this summer when a University of Washington expert will attempt to tease out traces of cellulose that could be tied to burning wood, said Katherine Himes, a Clean Air Agency pollution expert.
Ecology Department officials collect air filters from the South L Street site every six days. They began gathering them last year, but experts need three years of evidence to comprehensively model the origin of the soot, said Sarah Rees, air program manager for the state Department of Ecology.
WOOD STOVES A LIKELY SUSPECT
In the meantime, Clean Air Agency officials plan to assemble an inventory of likely pollution sources, including everything from industrial polluters and oceangoing freighters to diesel trucks on Interstate 5. As part of its data gathering, the agency also plans to poll residents about winter heating practices, particularly involving wood burning.
Wood-burning stoves, especially older, uncertified models, each can emit hundreds of pounds of soot every year, far more than cleaner-burning pellet stoves and oil and gas furnaces.
South End Neighborhood Council members told Kircher and other Clean Air Agency officials they want the agency to crack down on burn-ban violators as well as assist low-income residents who want to upgrade to cleaner-burning fuels. “People who burn wood tend to burn garbage in stoves,” complained board member Esther Day.
“Every source has to be looked at. Fort Lewis, McChord,” said board member Tony Caldwell. “If we come to find out wood stoves are the main source, let’s do something about it.”
Over the past year, the Clean Air Agency has spent more than $1.25 million to reduce particulate pollution from wood stoves, outdoor burning and diesel engines. Most of the money was devoted to retrofits of school and transit bus fleets, said Himes, of the Clean Air Agency.
The agency’s next budget is expected to include money to reduce problems associated with wood smoke and fine particles, Himes said.
The state Ecology Department could provide additional funding to help people swap old-fashioned wood stoves for heaters that pollute much less, she said.
Susan Gordon: 253-597-8756
susan.gordon@thenewstribune.com
