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This
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California Air
Toxics Program Background
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The Air Resources Board's (ARB / Board) statewide
comprehensive air toxics program was established in the early
1980's. The Toxic Air Contaminant Identification and Control
Act (AB 1807, Tanner 1983)
created California's program to reduce exposure to air toxics.
The Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act
(AB 2588, Connelly 1987) supplements
the AB 1807 program, by requiring a statewide
air toxics inventory, notification of people exposed to a
significant health risk, and facility plans to reduce these
risks.
Under AB 1807, the ARB is required to use certain criteria in the
prioritization for the identification and control of air
toxics. In selecting substances for review, the ARB must consider
criteria relating to "the risk of harm to public
health, amount or potential amount of emissions, manner of, and
exposure to, usage of the substance in California, persistence
in the atmosphere, and ambient concentrations in the community" [Health
and Safety Code section 39666(f)]. AB 1807 also
requires the ARB to use available information gathered from
the AB 2588 program to include in the prioritization of compounds. This
report includes available information on each of the above factors
required under the mandates of the AB 1807 program.
AB 1807 and AB 2588 are described in more
detail below.
AB 1807 Program
In 1983, the California Legislature established a
two-step process of risk identification and risk management to address
the potential health effects from air toxic substances and
protect the public health of Californians. During the first
step (identification), the ARB and the Office of Environmental
Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) determines if a substance
should be formally identified as a
toxic air contaminant (TAC) in California. During
this process, the ARB and the OEHHA staff draft a
report that serves as the basis for this
determination. The ARB staff assesses the potential for human exposure
to a substance and the OEHHA staff evaluates the
health effects. A thorough public process assures accountability and
public input. Public workshops are conducted to allow for direct
exchanges of information with interested constituencies. The
draft risk assessments themselves are published
and widely distributed with a public notice requesting comment
to further assure involvement. The final risk assessment
(identification) report includes a record of the public comments and
how they were addressed. After the ARB and the OEHHA staff hold several
comment periods and workshops, the report is then
submitted to an independent, nine member, Scientific
Review Panel (SRP), who review the report for its scientific
accuracy. If the SRP approves the report, they develop specific
scientific findings which are officially submitted to the ARB.
The ARB staff then prepares a hearing notice and
draft regulation to formally identify the substance
as a TAC. Based on the input from the public and
the information gathered from the report, the Board will
decide whether to identify a substance as a
TAC. Any person may petition the Board to review a
previous determination by providing new evidence.
In the second step (risk management), the ARB reviews the emission
sources of an identified TAC to determine if any
regulatory action is necessary to reduce the risk. The
analysis includes a review of controls already in place, the
available technologies and associated costs for reducing emissions, and
the associated risk. Public outreach is an essential element
in the development of a control plan and any control measure
to ensure that the ARB efforts are cost-effective and appropriately
balance public health protection and economic growth.
In 1993, the California Legislature amended the AB 1807 program for the
identification and control
of TACs (AB 2728). Specifically, AB 2728
required the ARB to identify the 189 federal hazardous air
pollutants as TACs. For those substances that have
not previously been identified under AB 1807 and identified
under AB 2728, health effects values will need to be developed. This
report will serve as a basis for that evaluation. For
substances that were not identified as TACs and are on the TAC
Identification List, this report will provide information to evaluate
which substances may be entered into the air toxics
identification process.
AB 2588 "Hot Spots" Program
In September 1987, the California Legislature
established the AB 2588 air toxics "Hot Spots" program.
It requires facilities to report their air toxics emissions,
ascertain health risks, and to notify nearby residents of
significant risks. The emissions inventory and risk assessment
information from this program has been incorporated into this
report. In September 1992, the "Hot Spots" Act was amended
by Senate Bill 1731 which required
facilities that pose a significant health risk to the community to
reduce their risk through a risk management
plan. |
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Air Toxics Program
Control Program
Identification
Program
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