AIRPORT COMMISSION AWARDS CONTRACT TO STUDY AIR POLLUTANT EMISSIONS AT LAX

 (Los Angeles, California – February 25, 2008)  The City of Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners today awarded a $2.15 million contract for the most comprehensive air monitoring and data analysis program to be undertaken by any airport authority nationwide.  The contract, for an Air Quality and Source Apportionment Study at Los AngelesInternationalAirport (LAX), was awarded to Jacobs Consultancy, a nationwide consulting firm with local offices in Cypress, Calif.  

When completed, the study will provide detailed information on the role of LAX in air pollutant emissions and the impact these emissions have on the total concentration of air pollutants in communities surrounding LAX.

As part of the study, which is expected to begin in June, Jacobs Consultancy will be required to install and fully equip 11 air monitoring stations throughout the study area and to collect a variety of toxic air pollutants on site at LAX and at numerous sites in the surrounding communities.

Data will be collected continuously for at least three months for the pilot study and 12 months for the long-term study.  Criteria pollutants to be measured include nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and sulfur dioxide.  Toxic air pollutants to be measured include many species of volatile and semi-volatile compounds, trace metals, and other inorganic compounds.

The three-year study is in compliance with the requirements of the LAX Master Plan Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program, the Community Benefits Agreement and the LAX Stipulated Settlement Agreement.

LAWA is coordinating the study with representatives of federal, state and regional air quality control agencies.  Also included in this technical working group are research experts in the fields of receptor modeling and air pollutant monitoring, as well as representatives from the City of El Segundo and the LAX Coalition for Economic, Environmental and Educational Justice. The LAX Coalition for Economic, Environmental and Educational Justice includes approximately 22 community, educational, religious, environmental, and labor organizations. In particular, it represents the interests of low-income and minority populations located near LAX.

The results of these discussions and the work product from this task will be communicated to a larger project advisory group consisting of even more environmental and health regulatory agencies.