07/26/1978 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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, . Mr. Delay noted significant air quality problems the community will have - to face in the future. One of those is total suspended particulates, especially in terms of constituting health hazards for the citizens. He noted fine particulates are more of a health hazard in that they stay in the air longer, can be transported over greater distances, and are more easily inhaled. A second significant problem noted is the growth constraint on industries in the area. He noted his report was strictly a subjective one, based upon his experiences with LRAPA, the AQMACAC, EPA briefings, and discussions with persons involved with these issues. The first issue discussed was the air shed dilemma. He described the AQMA boundaries as being a legal entity arbitrarily placed as a square grid around the urban service boundary area. He said the LRAPA pamphlet distributed tOday describes the overall nature of the Willamette Valley air as a shoe box enclosed on all four sides. Eugene is being asked to clean up one corner of the shoe box. He noted one problem with the arbitrary boundary is that the source of detected pollutants may not all be from this portion of the air shed, i.e. intrusions from field burning. A second concern expressed was the question as to whether or not the meteorological flow allows pollution to drift down through the valley and accumulate in this air shed. Answers to those questions have to be explored in a significant manner. He felt it was necessary to broaden the perspective as to how the air shed is defined. Another issue is that the Eugene/Springfield area is being asked to clean . up a problem that is not our problem alone. He noted a great need for cooperation throughout the entire Willamette Valley, as is done in the e water shed problems. He pointed out a need for cooperation and commitment from all cities in the area. He said the Eugene area was the only area with an enforced open burning ban, one which has the toughest industrial pollution control standards in the state already, and has been rolling back on traditional sources over the years, yet the area is still in violation of Federal standards. He felt the Willamette Valley air shed simply had not been studied carefully or extensively enough. It is necessary to develop more technical knowledge. It is necessary to determine whether or not the meteorological causes have different consequences than general valley-wide levels of particulates. He felt the questions of air quality are very elusive and less understood than those of water quality, and emphasized it was necessary for all in the valley to cooperate. Regarding short-term issues, Mr. Delay said the AQMACAC is dealing with this grid system encompassing the metro area. There are several monitoring stations in the area. The data base shows known sources of particulates which are a major problem (i.e., industrial, paved and unpaved road dust). To deal with these problems, data will be put into a computer model. The model will predict how much should be observed at the monitoring stations (based on control strategies). One large question to be answered is how much can be accounted for other than the known sources. He believed it would be found that there is some 40 percent or more emmission that is being measured that cannot be accounted for because they are a part of the - 7/26/78--7 537