A Report on the First Phase of Air Quality Assessment in South Central Los
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A REPORT ON THE FIRST PHASE SCLA OF AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES, 2019-2020 SEPTEMBER 30, 2020 Historic South Central Harvard Park Watts The SCLA-PUSH team would like to acknowledge the commitment and hard work provided by our project partners and allies who contributed to the production of this report, including: Primary Authors Paula Torrado Plazas, Air & Toxics Policy Analyst, Project Manager, SCLA-PUSH Monika Shankar, Senior Project Manager, PSR-LA Academic Researchers and Contributors Jill Johnston, Assistant Professor of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California Bhavna Shamasunder, Associate Professor and Chair, Urban and Environmental Policy; Co-Chair, Public Health, Occidental College Peter Sinsheimer, Executive Director, Sustainable Technology & Policy Program, University of California, Los Angeles Editor Julie Lindow Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles Staff Paula Torrado Plazas, Air & Toxics Policy Analyst, Project Manager, SCLA-PUSH Martha Dina Argüello, Executive Director Jazmine Johnson, Land Use & Health Program Associate SCLA-PUSH Team Laura Muraida, Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) Gloria Medina, Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) Gina Charusombat, Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education (SCOPE) Sonya Vasquez, Community Health Councils Jill Johnston, University of Southern California Amanda Jimenez, University of Southern California Wendy Gutschow, University of Southern California Bhavna Shamasunder, Occidental College Jade Henderson, Occidental College Peter Sinsheimer, University of California, Los Angeles Omar Ureta, theWorksLA Graphic Design Omar Ureta, theWorksLA, SCLA-PUSH Anna Artemis Mkhikian We would also like to thank the California Air Resources Board, the California Climate Investments Program, and the Community Air Protection Program team for funding this work and supporting the SCLA-PUSH partnership in our efforts to improve air quality and community health in South Central Los Angeles. SCLA-PUSH is part of California Climate Investments, a statewide program that puts billions of Cap-and-Trade dollars to work reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the economy, and improving public health and the environment — particularly in disadvantaged communities. © SCLA-PUSH September 30, 2020 2 | AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT REPORT ABOUT US South Central Los Angeles Project to Understand the Sources and Health Impacts of Local Air Pollution (SCLA-PUSH) is a collaborative initiative led by Physicians for Social Responsibility- Los Angeles aimed to mobilize stakeholders to assess the scale and gravity of local air pollution in the South and Southeast Los Angeles community plan areas in order to identify viable community-grounded solutions. The project brings together residents of South Central Los Angeles, community advocates, and academics to shape a community air training and monitoring program rooted in a local understanding of the multi-faceted dimensions of air pollution burden. Our project is grounded in the experiences and expertise of South Central Los Angeles residents, and our collective capacity to assess local environmental conditions. PROJECT LEAD MEMBERS Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles and pursues economic development in the Figueroa (PSR-LA): an environmental health advocacy Corridor neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles. organization that advances policies and practices that improve public health, eliminate environmental and Jill Johnston and the Southern California nuclear threats, and address health inequalities. Environmental Health Sciences Center Community Engagement Core at the University of Southern Strategic Concepts in Organizing and Policy Education California (USC): Assistant Professor of Preventive (SCOPE): a South Central LA organization that builds Medicine and Director of Community Engagement in grassroots power to create social and economic the Division of Environmental Health at USC. justice for low-income, women and women identifying, immigrant, Black, and Brown communities in LA. Bhavna Shamasunder: Associate Professor and Chair, Urban and Environmental Policy, and Co-Chair, Public Community Health Councils (CHC): a community- Health, Occidental College based health policy and systems change organization. CHC engages all levels of stakeholders and contributes Omar Ureta: design technologist and consultant, to systems change in two distinct ways: 1) through theWorksLA, SCLA-PUSH coalition building and mobilization and 2) by utilizing Dr. Peter Sinsheimer: technology consultant, Executive robust community-based participatory research. Director, Sustainable Technology & Policy Program, Esperanza Community Housing Corporation University of California, Los Angeles (Esperanza): a community organization that develops affordable housing, promotes accessible health care, TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 06 INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT 07 A BRIEF HISTORY OF AIR QUALITY & ENVIRONMENTAL 11 JUSTICE ORGANIZING IN SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES Timeline 13 WHAT’S THE PROBLEM? WHAT’S UP WITH THE AIR IN 17 SOUTH CENTRAL LOS ANGELES? Air Quality Profile 18 Incompatible Land Use 19 Community Health Profile 20 Cumulative Impacts & Vulnerability 21 WHAT’S THE SOLUTION? OUR PRESCRIPTION FOR 23 CLEANING UP THE AIR Community-Based Research Methods 24 Method 1: Community Engagement & Capacity Building 24 Method 2: Ground-Truthing, Data Collection & Analysis 24 Method 3: Regulatory & Policy Engagement 25 Work Activities Timeline 26 PRELIMINARY DATA RESULTS & ANALYSIS 29 Facilities Assessment: Industrial Profile, Enforcement 30 and Compliance South Central Los Angeles Industrial Profile 30 Facilities-of-Concern 31 Facility Noncompliance & Enforcement Data Analysis 32 Community Air Monitoring—Preliminary Data Analysis 35 Mapping Workshops 35 Ground-Truthing & Air Monitoring Walks 36 Air Monitoring Technology Accessibility 37 Community Air Monitoring Results 38 Cumulative Burden & Risk Analysis 44 Community Storymap & Ground-Truthing Data 44 Emission Reduction Technologies— Preliminary Assessment 46 Dry Cleaners Case Study 48 Auto Body Shops Case Study 50 Metal Manufacturing Case Study 52 PUSHING FORWARD—SEIZING MOMENTUM AND BUILDING POWER 55 Summary & Key Takeaways 56 Pushing Toward Meaningful Solutions 57 Vision for the Future 60 GLOSSARY 62 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Air pollution in South Central Los Angeles emanates from a variety of sources, both stationary and mobile. Peppered among residential homes, schools, recreational facilities, and commercial establishments are auto body shops, metal manufacturing We are fighters — we facilities, oil and gas extraction sites, and other industrial land sites. Freeways and mobilize, and South high-volume thoroughfares surround and crisscross this urban landscape. These Central LA deserves pollution sources regularly emit harmful gases and particles, often above health the opportunity to standard levels, which combined with other socio-economic and environmental determinants of health, significantly impact the health and well-being of South breathe clean air. Central LA’s residents. Having witnessed, researched and mobilized around the challenge of air pollution for — PATRICIA JONES, RESIDENT many years, particularly within the broader framework of environmental justice and OF SOUTH CENTRAL LA health equity, the members of the SCLA-PUSH project assembled in January 2019 to address the legacy of air pollution in South Central Los Angeles, with the long-term goal of improving the quality of life and health of residents. This report details the accomplishments and successes achieved by the project since its inception in 2019: community outreach and capacity building efforts, air quality data collection and analysis, engagement around air quality regulation at the regional and state level, and emission reduction technology case studies to be used toward a community-centered regenerative plan. The two primary goals of this report are to present measurable progress toward project goals, and to provide preliminary assessments of the collective work in order to forecast the future direction of the project. The content of this report is presented in several sections. Following the introduction, a brief history of South Central Los Angeles’ engagement around issues of environmental justice and subsequent mobilizations are explored. The following two sections dive into the particular challenges of air quality and the specific methodologies employed by the SCLA-PUSH project to begin moving toward cleaner air. In the next section, preliminary data results are presented and evaluated for four dimensions of air quality: an evaluation of the industrial facilities regulated by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), localized data collected through the community air monitoring program, qualitative data on cumulative burden and risk drawn from community narratives cross-referenced against CalEnviroScreen, and an assessment of Best Available Control Technology for particular industrial facilities-of- concern. The report concludes with reflections on SCLA-PUSH’s next steps. We are proud of the work we have accomplished in the short time since our creation, and energized by the next phase of this initiative. 6 | AIR QUALITY ASSESSMENT REPORT INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT PHOTO BY JOEY ZANOTTI SCLA-PUSH | 7 INTRODUCTION & CONTEXT The SCLA-PUSH project was launched in January 2019 and led by Physicians for Social Responsibility–Los Angeles