General Plan Update - City of Inglewood

Chapter 5 Environmental Resources
include nausea, skin irritation, respiratory illness, and, in some cases, death. Chronic
health effects result from low-dose, long-term exposure from routine releases of air
toxics. The effect of major concern for this type of exposure is cancer, which
requires a period of 10-30 years after exposure to develop.
Existing Regional Air Quality
Ambient concentrations of criteria pollutants are used by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) and the California Air Resources Board
(ARB) to assess and classify air quality in each air basin, county, or, in some cases, a
specific urbanized area. The classification is determined by comparing monitoring data
with federal and state standards. If a pollutant concentration in an area is lower than the
standard, the area is classified as an “attainment” area for that pollutant. If the pollutant
exceeds the standard, the area is classified as a “nonattainment” area. Exceedances that
are affected by highly irregular or infrequent events (e.g., uncontrolled fires) are not
considered violations of standards. If there are not enough data available to determine
whether the standard is exceeded in the area, the area is designated as “unclassified.” An
air basin classified as a “nonattainment” area for a certain pollutant can file a maintenance
plan with the USEPA if the three-year average concentration in the basin is below the
applicable standards. A maintenance plan demonstrates how an air basin will prevent new
exceedances of the standards.
Regarding the national standards, the Basin has been designated as a severe-17
nonattainment area for eight-hour O 3 , meaning that national ambient air quality standards
are not expected to be met for more than 17 years. The Basin is also a nonattainment area
for PM 10 , PM 2.5 , CO and NO 2 . Deadlines for meeting the national standards have been
set as 2021 for eight-hour O 3 and 2006 for PM 10 . As of early 2006, it is unclear if the
Basin will meet the PM 10 attainment deadline. The three-year annual PM 10 average is 52
micrograms per meter cubed (µg/m 3 ) and the national standard is 50 µg/m 3 . The
deadline for meeting the PM 2.5 standard has not been set. Regarding CO and NO 2 , the
Basin must achieve attainment by the most expeditious date that can be achieved, but no
later than five years from the date the area was designated nonattainment. If the Basin
experiences difficulty doing so, the USEPA may extend the period for attainment by an
additional ten years.
Regarding the state standards, the Basin is a nonattainment area for 1-hour O 3 , PM 10 , and
PM 2.5 . Even though the Basin is in nonattainment for several pollutants, regional air
quality throughout the Basin has improved over the last few decades as technological
advancements in pollution controls have offset population growth.
Existing Local Air Quality
The SCAQMD divides the Basin into source receptor areas (SRAs) in which monitoring
stations operate to monitor the various concentrations of air pollutants in the Basin.
Pollutant levels vary widely at each SRA depending on the location and time of year. The
highest levels of O 3 and PM 10 are generally recorded in SRAs in the interior valleys during
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City of Inglewood General Plan Update Technical Background Report