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SLO County Air Pollution Control District
E- Newsletter


In This Issue
Welcome APCD Board
Air Quality & Your Health Campaign
Community Monitoring Project
Cal Poly research Assistantsnts
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February 2012

Upcoming Events:
  • February 12: Lincoln's Birthday - APCD Office Closed
  • February 18: President's Day - APCD Office Closed
  • March 2: Girl Scout Day at Cal Poly
  • April 5-7: SLO Marathon
  • April 13: Children's Day in the Plaza at SLO Mission
  • April 21: Earth Day at El Chorro Regional Park
  • May 11: Outdoor Discovery Festival at Lopez Lake
 Welcome 2013 APCD Board 
The APCD would like to welcome the new and returning 
members of the APCD Governing Board. The APCD Board consists of twelve members, five County Supervisors and one city council representative from each of the seven incorporated cities. 
CHAIR: Paul Teixeira, 4th District Supervisor
VICE CHAIR: Roberta Fonzi, City of Atascadero  

Debbie Arnold, 5th District Supervisor
Joe Costello, City of Arroyo Grande
Bruce Gibson, 2nd District Supervisor
John Hamon, City of Paso Robles
Adam Hill, 3rd District Supervisor
Jan Marx, Mayor, City of San Luis Obispo
Frank Mecham, 1st District Supervisor
Debbie Peterson, Mayor, City of Grover Beach
Noah Smuckler, City of Morro Bay
Ed Waage, City of Pismo Beach

The next APCD Board meeting will be on March 27 at 9:00 am. All Board meetings are held in the County Board of Supervisors Chambers. Visit our website to see a complete list of upcoming meetings. 
Air Quality & Your Health Campaign 

Our lungs are among the body's primary points of contact with the outside world, so the content of the air we breathe is extremely important.

Despite significant success in reducing overall pollution levels at the local and state level, air pollution continues to be an important issue affecting public health.
    
The APCD and SLO County Public Health Department have collaborated on an educational campaign to build awareness and an increased understanding of the connection between air quality and public health. The educational campaign will target local doctors' offices, medical clinics, hospitals, fitness facilities, public events and agency offices, to provide them with helpful information on air quality and how it could affect your health.     

Visit our website to find our more information on how air quality can affect your health. You will also find a complete list of brochure locations, our Air Quality and Your Health Poster and the presentation we made at our January Board meeting. 

 

South County Community Monitoring Project

 

In the spring of 2012, the APCD instituted a South County Community Monitoring Project to measure the extent of the dust plume and its impact on the Nipomo Mesa and Oceano communities to provide residents more information about the impacts of the windblown dust in their neighborhoods.

  

The study was conducted during the spring to capture the season with the highest winds and prevalence of dust episodes. Over 20 air quality monitors were deployed throughout the Nipomo Mesa and Oceano to gather data to better define the path, extent and airborne particulate matter (PM) concentration of the dust plume. 

 

The study focused on two primary impact areas in the South County: the Nipomo Mesa neighborhoods directly downwind of the dunes, and the Oceano neighborhoods adjacent to the beach. The data collected provided information to more precisely define the air quality forecasting zones for those communities and enhance the ability of local residents to determine if or when protective actions might be needed on high PM days. 

 

For additional information, and to see the Final Report and brochure, please visit our website.

 

Click the picture above to see maps in a larger format on our website.
APCD Board Recognizes Cal Poly Student Research Assistants

 

In the Spring of 2012, APCD partnered with the Cal Poly State University College of Engineering to obtain student research assistants from Dr. Tracy Thatcher's Environmental Engineering undergraduate classes for the South County Community Monitoring Project. 

 

The Student Research Assistants provided valuable support to APCD in assisting with monitoring equipment installation, testing, maintenance, recordkeeping and data reporting for the entire project. 

 

APCD was proud to recognize Danielle Noce (pictured below), Natalie Lambert (pictured below), Kevin Lin and Shauna Falvey at the APCD Board meeting for their contribution to the completion of the South County Community Monitoring Project and dedication to enhancing air quality in San Luis Obispo County. 

 

 

APCD continues to expand partnership with Cal Poly University College of Engineering

Cal Poly Engineering class gets an inside look at the SLO County air quality monitoring station. 

 

 

For the second year, air monitoring staff from APCD and the California Air Resources Board (ARB) hosted an educational tour for the Cal Poly Environmental Engineering class. Fifty-four aspiring engineers visited the SLO air monitoring station operated by ARB with the purpose of enhancing their lab and field knowledge. Professor Tracy Thatcher, Ph.D. of the Cal-Poly Civil and Environmental Engineering Department said that "it was extremely helpful for the students to not only visit the station and see what it is like, but also to get first-hand information on what it takes to maintain a system that produces data which is both precise and accurate."

 

Professor Thatcher also noted other benefits of having this kind of exposure to real life air quality monitoring: "this increased the learning of the students and brought up other aspects of the monitoring system. The feedback from my students has been incredibly positive.  They feel that the tour gave them a much better understanding of the monitoring system, in San Luis and throughout the state, and the data it produces."

Thank you for taking the time to read our e-newsletter! If you have any questions regarding programs of the Air Pollution Control District, please give us a call at 805-781-5912. You can also email the APCD at [email protected]
 
SLO County Air Pollution Control District