BAAQMD - Community Air Risk Evaluation Program

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Community Air Risk Evaluation (CARE) Program

| Task Force Members | Task Force Meetings | CARE Activities and Community Meetings| CARE Documents

The Community Air Risk Evaluation (CARE) program was initiated in 2004 to evaluate and reduce health risks associated with exposures to outdoor toxic air contaminants (TACs) in the Bay Area. The program examines TAC emissions from point sources, area sources and on-road and off-road mobile sources with an emphasis on diesel exhaust, which is a major contributor to airborne health risk in California. The main objectives of the program are to:

Characterize and evaluate potential cancer and non-cancer health risks associated with exposure to TACs from both stationary and mobile sources throughout the Bay Area.

Assess potential exposures to sensitive receptors including children, senior citizens, and people with respiratory illnesses.

Identify significant sources of TAC emissions and prioritize use of resources to reduce TACs in the most highly impacted areas (i.e., priority communities).

Develop and implement mitigation measures - such as grants, guidelines, or regulations - to achieve cleaner air for the public and the environment, focusing initially on priority communities.

How will BAAQMD achieve these objectives?

The CARE program is an on-going program that encourages community involvement and input. The technical analysis portion of the CARE program is being implemented in three phases that includes an assessment of the sources of TAC emissions, modeling and measurement programs to estimate concentrations of TAC, and an assessment of exposures and health risks. Throughout the program, information derived from the technical analyses will be used to focus emission reduction measures in areas with high TAC exposures and high density of sensitive populations. To assist the District in guiding this program, CARE Task Force members that include representatives from the community, industry, health departments, and research institutions meet on an as-needed basis to receive updates, discuss and review recent findings, and provide input on program direction. Agendas and presentations from past Task Force meetings are available.

Phase I

In Phase I, the District developed a preliminary emissions inventory of TAC for year 2000 that includes emissions from individual point source facilities, area sources, on-road mobile sources, and off-road sources (e.g., construction equipment, ships, and aircraft). The data were analyzed and then updated to include the most recent 2005 emission data as shown in Figure 1. The emission data are combined with demographic and health statistics data as illustrated in Figures 2 and 3. By developing risk-weighted emissions maps, the District is able to identify priority communities with significant exposures that would most benefit from mitigation strategies.

Figure 1. Cancer Risk-Weighted Emissions for 2005

Figure 2. Population Under the Age of 18

Figure 3. Asthma Hospitalization Rates

When the TAC emissions are weighted by toxicity, one can estimate which compounds and which sources pose the greatest risk. The results of the Phase I analysis indicate that diesel particulate matter (diesel PM) accounts for over 80% of the cancer risk weighted TAC emissions (Figure 4a)

and that on-road and off-road mobile sources are responsible for the majority of cancer risk from air toxics (Figure 4b). The California Air Resources Board identified diesel PM as a toxic air contaminant based on its potential to cause cancer and other health problems, including respiratory illnesses, and increased risk of heart disese and even premature death. Exposure to diesel PM is a health hazard, particularly to children and elderly. Diesel PM consists of primarily fine particulates that are produced from the combustion of diesel fuel from on-road and off-road heavy duty diesel trucks and construction equipment.

Phase I was completed in Fall 2006. A copy of the Phase I Findings and Recommendations Document is available.

Figure 4a. Cancer Risk Weighted

Emissions by Pollutant

Figure 4b. Cancer Risk Weighted

Emissions by Source Category

Phase II

In Phase II of the CARE program, the District is performing regional-scale and local-scale modeling to determine the significant sources of diesel PM and TAC emissions locally in the priority communities as well as for the entire Bay Area.

In an example of local-scale modeling, the District partnered with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), Port of Oakland, and the Union Pacific Railroad to estimate the health risks from diesel exhaust in West Oakland. Draft results of the comprehensive Health Risk Assessment (HRA) were made available in March 2008 and take into account emissions generated from:

Diesel trucks and buses

Locomotives (cargo and passenger trains)
Ships (cargo and cruise)
Harbor craft (e.g., tugs, ferries, fishing vessels)
Construction equipment
Cargo handling equipment
Stationary source
Other significant sources of diesel PM

The study determined that the West Oakland community is exposed to diesel PM ambient concentrations that are almost three times higher than the average background diesel PM in the Bay Area. The estimated lifetime potential cancer risk for residents of West Oakland from exposure to diesel PM is about 1,200 excess cancers per million over a 70 year lifespan. On-road heavy-duty trucks result in the largest contribution to the overall potential cancer risk levels in the West Oakland community, followed by ships, harbor craft, locomotives, and cargo handling equipment.

CARB has adopted numerous regulations to reduce diesel PM emissions and expects to adopt additional rules. These rules will significantly reduce cancer and noncancer risk in West Oakland and other communities affected by diesel PM. The fact sheet, draft summary (March 2008) and most appendices are available now and a final report is scheduled to be released in June 2008.

Even with the adoption of CARB's proposed regulations, the District is committed to further reducing diesel PM in the Bay Area beyond those measures prescribed by CARB. To achieve this objective, the District developed a mitigation action plan that involves the communities and businesses to seek grant funding for diesel emission reduction projects and offers decision-based tools to assess potential health risks associated with proposed land use projects.

Additional Phase II Studies

The health risk assessment results show that residents of West Oakland are exposed to unhealthful levels of diesel PM. The District is undertaking several studies to reduce the uncertainties in the truck estimates and enhance the District's understanding of cargo transport throughout the West Oakland community in order to implement the most effective mitigation strategy.

West Oakland Truck Traffic Survey

The District is partnering with Pacific Institute and the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project to conduct a comprehensive traffic count survey. The objective of the study is to improve the spatial representation of roadway emissions, identify locations and time of idling trucks, and determine the percentage of Port related trucks versus non-Port trucks. The District is reviewing results from previous studies by Pacific Institute, City of Oakland, and the Port of Oakland and also mapping two-minute snapshots using global positioning system (GPS) data from over 300 trucks representing 14 truck companies that service the Port of Oakland (see Figure 5).

The West Oakland truck survey will begin in the middle of August 2008.

Figure 5. GPS Tracking Data of Port Trucks from 2006-2007

Mitigation Action Plan

Figure 6. Six Priority Communities

One of highlights of the CARE program is the development of the Mitigation Action Plan where risk reduction activities are focused on the most at-risk communities. Based on maps of toxic air emissions and sensitive populations, six priority communities (see Figure 6) have been identified that would benefit from immediate mitigation action.

The Mitigation Action Plan is a multi-pronged approach at reducing TAC emissions in these communities. The Plan calls for:

Allocating grants and incentives in the priority communities. Grant funding programs include Carl Moyer Program ($11 million/yr), Goods Movement Bond ($35 million/yr), Mobile Source Incentive Fund ($11 million/yr), TFCA Regional Fund ($6 million/yr), and TFCA County Program Managers Fund ($10 million/yr). Funds from these programs will be focused on businesses that operate in these priority communities in order to replace and retrofit heavy duty diesel engines with cleaner burning engines.

Conducting outreach efforts in these communities to solicit and gain feedback from the community as how best to address and reduce TAC emissions. The District held a series of Community Air Quality Input meetings in March/April 2008. In each city, the District provided community specific information on the sources of TAC, past projects that were funded through the District's grant program, and emission reductions from grant funded programs. The District is committed to keeping the lines of communication open with the community to hear their suggestions and feedback. As part of the dialogue, the District plans to have additional follow-up meetings in the future. Please go to the CARE community meeting web site for a list of upcoming meetings.

Communicating and working with local city and county health departments to improve coordination and collaboration between the District's efforts to reduce TAC emissions and local experts on health care issues and programs.

Developing local land use guidance to assist city and county planners, community members, and developers in assessing risks from land use projects and exposure to mobile and stationary sources of TAC emissions. The guidance will help cities and counties to assess health impacts from and to new development projects, determine if mitigation is required, identify possible mitigation measures, assess the effectiveness of the measure, and assist with city's general plans. The guidance will include recommended procedures for assessing potential impacts to sensitive receptors from sources of TACs, refined risk analysis methodology, mitigation measures, and metrics for assessing effective mitigation. The guidance is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2008. In the meantime, the District recommends following the guidance provided in CARB's Air Quality and Land Use Handbook: A Community Health Perspective (dated April 2005).

Developing rules and regulations that would require reduction of TAC emissions from significant sources. An example is the District's Green Ports Initiative that may require emission inventories and emission reduction action plans from the Bay Area seaports.

Mobile Sampling Van

Look for the District in your community. The District is currently working on a mobile sampling van that will be instrumental in assessing the air quality in the Bay Area from temporary events to long term construction projects. The van will also be used to assess local air quality and compare it to the District's existing toxic monitoring network.

Phase III

In Phase III, the District plans to conduct an extensive exposure assessment to identify and rank the communities as to their potential TAC exposures and determine the types of activities that places them at highest risk. The District will also pursue additional mitigation measures and provide a metric to assess their effectiveness in reducing overall exposures.

Links

California Air Resources Board Community Health page

Port of Oakland

Union Pacific Railroad

Pacific Institute's Report on the West Oakland Environmental Indicators Project


Contact:
Philip Martien, Ph.D.	CARE Program Manager	(415) 749-4660	pmartien@baaqmd.gov
	Fax	(415) 749-4741