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Foul Odor Follow-Up: SCAQMD Exec. Officer Emails This Reply After Readers Respond To LBREPORT.com "Action Editorial"; We Publish Dr. Wallerstein's Reply In Full


(Oct. 15, 2014, 9:55 p.m.) -- SCAQMD Executive Officer Barry Wallerstein, D., Env., has emailed the reply below following an LBREPORT.com action editorial yesterday (Oct. 14) regarding periodic "mystery stinks" [LBREPORT.com term], more professionally called area odors, experienced in and around parts of Long Beach.

We thank Dr. Wallerstein for his reply (published in full below.)

[Scroll down for further below.]






[Dr. Wallerstein text] Oct. 15, 2014

Regarding your Oct. 14 editorial, "How to Take Action on Long Beach’s Latest 'Mystery Stink,'" I want to assure you that the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) takes all complaints seriously.

The SCAQMD receives on average more than 8,000 air quality complaints a year; of these typically more than 65 percent are odor-related. Our long-standing policy has been to respond to all complaints as best as possible.

During the past five years, SCAQMD has investigated more than 450 odor complaints associated with more than 35 reported odor incidents in Long Beach and surrounding areas. Depending on the number of complaints received, we have sent one or more inspectors to contact the complainants, gather more information, track the odors when present and attempt to identify the odor source(s).

In the majority of these incidents we determined that the odors originated offshore. In some cases we quickly arranged to send inspectors by boat to the nearby offshore oil production islands and ships moored near them. In some instances we have collected air samples downwind of a ship and have even used an infrared camera to better understand the possible origin of offshore odors.

A complicating factor is that odors by nature can be elusive and fleeting in any given location and time, particularly in the case of odors near the coast. Although we have not yet identified the source of periodic foul odors in the Long Beach area, we are committed to continuing our efforts to do so.

In response to concerns from your readers and others, we plan to schedule a community meeting in the Long Beach area soon to explain the agency's response to these odors. And of course we will continue to respond to residents' complaints as we receive them. (Any resident can report a foul odor or other suspected air pollution violation 24-7 by calling SCAQMD at 1-800-CUT-SMOG. Supervisors are paged when calls are received after hours or on weekends, and the identity of all complainants is kept confidential.)

The SCAQMD is also considering distributing a limited number of air sampling devices so that residents can collect samples if another odor occurs. SCAQMD staff would then collect the samples and return them to our laboratory in Diamond Bar for analysis. This might help us better characterize the odors and potentially identify a source or sources.

SCAQMD is committed to continuing our efforts to identify and resolve the source of periodic foul odors in the Long Beach and South Bay areas. We look forward to further discussing this topic with your readers and other residents during our upcoming community meeting.

Sincerely,

Barry R. Wallerstein, D.Env.

[LBREPORT.com readers who emailed Dr. Wallerstein (we gave out his email address previously) may wish to email him again to thank him for his response. And thank you, LBREPORT.com readers.]



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