Pasadena City Council
January 23, 2025

CITY COUNCIL UPDATE: AIR MONITORING AND SOIL TESTINGCity CouncilJanuary 23, 2025 Public Health DepartmentDirection Provided on January 17•City Council direction>Identify plans of public agencies to test soil and air>Assess gaps in neighborhood-level soil and air monitoring, testing, and reporting beyond the burn area>Evaluate potential paths for the City to address gaps in soil and air testing2 Public Health DepartmentRegional Approach is Needed•Air quality monitoring and testing is a regional issue, not a local one>Los Angeles County has 4,000 square miles, Pasadena makes up about 23 square miles>Air flows freely throughout •Air quality monitoring is being done, both by AQMD and crowd sourcing through PurpleAir•The City will continue to pursue efforts for air testing as is feasible beyond Phase I debris removal sites3 Public Health DepartmentRegional Approach is Needed•U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)>Phase 1 mission is focused solely on fire damaged propertiesEnsure safe removal and transport of hazardous household waste>Air monitoring solely at collection site>Soil testing will be limited to the staging area in Irwindale>Confirmed they will not conduct air or soil testing in the Pasadena community outside fire damaged properties and staging area in Irwindale4 Public Health DepartmentRegional Approach is Needed•Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)>FEMA is lead for Phase 2 Private Debris RemovalFEMA has missioned U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to complete Phase 2USACE plans to remove 3 to 6 inches of top soil from each fire damaged propertyIt is unclear whether further soil testing or mitigation on these properties is needed>Confirmed they will not conduct soil testing in Pasadena community, neither on fire-damaged properties or elsewhere in the community5 Public Health DepartmentRegional Approach is Needed•South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD)>Maintain pre-disaster efforts to measure Air QualityReports air quality in alignment with EPAs index for reporting air quality, known as Air Quality Index (AQI)Measures and reports air quality through existing infrastructureUses averages for 24-hour exposure over the Pasadena community>Confirmed they do not have plans to expand air quality measurements to include air testing, additional air monitoring stations, or reporting6 Public Health DepartmentRegional Approach is Needed•The gap between current EPA, FEMA, and AQMD efforts and City Council direction is significant•In exploring options, city staff have engaged:>Regional public health partners>Academic experts in environmental monitoring, testing, and reporting>Experts from private companies7 Public Health DepartmentAir Quality Monitoring and Testing•Air Quality Index (AQI) measures some gases, ozone, and particulate matter (PM2.5 & PM10)>In general, air quality is fluid and a point in time measurement can be misleadingReadings may change depending on conditions such as»High winds»Disruption of fire debris in the vicinity»Normal levels of particulate matter in the air (i.e. smog)>Measures amount, does not identify what>Experts confirmed that PM2.5 can serve as a proxy for presence of potential contaminants, i.e. healthier air is a good sign8 Public Health DepartmentAir Quality Monitoring and Testing•Real-time testing for airborne contaminants is limited by technology, expertise, and testing process>Air monitoring tools only measure quantity of particulate matter>No universally accepted methodology for measuring airborne contaminants in real-time>Air testing requires sample media such as filters, needing collection and sending to a lab for testing>Lab testing can take several daysAir quality will change during the testing process, making the results outdated9 Public Health DepartmentAir Quality Monitoring and Testing•PurpleAir provides real-time air quality information using a network of privately deployed sensors across the community•Measures AQI at neighborhood level10 •Deployment of sensors at city facilities or schools may help to fill gaps•Sensors cost about $300 eachScreenshot taken at 8pm 1/22/25 Public Health DepartmentSoil Testing•Soil testing is complex>Requires comprehensive approach includingSampling plan including protocol for sample collectionIdentified list of potential contaminants to test forLab capable of testingDetailed scientific reporting>Requires expertise and ability to interpret data>Assessing dispersal of potential contaminants is a challenge without baseline data>Rain or other irrigation is expected to help>Continue to push for EPA and FEMA to look at soil testing11 Public Health DepartmentNext Steps•Continue exploration of PurpleAir as a resource to inform the Pasadena community•Continue discussions with EPA, FEMA, AQMD, state agencies, and regional public health partners to develop a regional approach for air quality monitoring and testing•Work with EPA, FEMA, state agencies, academic and private experts, and public health partners to advocate for soil testing•Receive any additional City Council direction12