By Luis Amezcua
On November 15th, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District will be considering for adoption a new clean air regulation that will be the strongest in the nation in terms of protecting public health.
Rule 11-18 requires industrial sources, including cement plants, chemical plants, hospitals, landfills, and sewage treatment plants, to conduct extensive risk screenings and health risk assessments to incorporate risk management guidelines and health risk values that the State of California recently adopted. Once these assessments are completed, the relevant industries will be required to implement measures to reduce their toxic emissions.
The goal of Rule 11-18 is to reduce the risk of causing cancer from 100 cases per million to 10 cases per million. Since the regulation is covering a broad group of facilities, the Air District has prioritized certain facilities to comply quicker than others (refineries have until 2020 to comply), and will be given additional time once additional procedures are approved by the Air District, such as Best Available Retrofit Control Technologies.
The Sierra Club and its allies expect heavy opposition from the industry, despite the reasonable timeframe for compliance, and we need your voice to make sure the Board moves forward with Rule 11-18! Join us at the November 15th meeting and speak up for 11-18’s adoption.
WHEN: Wednesday, November 15, 9:45 AM
WHERE: Bay Area Air Quality Management District offices, 375 Beale Street, San Francisco, CA 94105
Photo: by Jason Homberg, via Flickr Creative Commons