Dust in the wind

Mike Hodgson

Opponents of off-roading in the Oceano Dunes are hailing a recent study as more ammunition in their campaign to shut down the off-highway vehicle park because it’s harming the health of Nipomo Mesa residents.

But off-roaders are questioning the science of the study, saying the report is incomplete and ignores certain facts.

The report is the second phase of a study of particulate air pollution on the Nipomo Mesa conducted for the San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District.



The study directly attributes excessive levels of particulate pollution to off-road vehicles in the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area.



Whether the report will provide opponents with the magic bullet they need to shut down Oceano Dunes SVRA remains to be seen.

But at least one off-roading organization is gearing up to challenge the report’s conclusions.



“We will be responding to the Air Pollution Control District in a detailed letter outlining our concerns,” said Jim Suty, president of the Friends of Oceano Dunes, which has 20,000 members.



However, Suty declined to say what those concerns are.



The California Air Resources Board is noncommittal on the report at this point.



“We couldn’t shut (the off-road park) down,” said Gennet Paauwe, a spokeswoman for the Air Resources Board. “We don’t have purview over state parks.

”

She said the agency’s staff has looked at the report and found it technically sound. But she pointed out the APCD is still going through its “public process.”

“So at this point, we’re not really weighing in,” Paauwe said.



Larry Allen, APCD air pollution control officer, said he doesn’t believe the district has the authority to shut down the off-road park.



“We haven’t even considered that,” Allen said, adding that wasn’t the intent in conducting the study. “No doubt we will be talking with State Parks about what to do.

”

He said whatever direction the district takes will be up to its board of directors, which will consider the report at its March 24 meeting.



Allen said he’s uncertain if the Board of Supervisors will ask for a presentation on the report. But he noted the study will be included in the environmental impact report on the state’s request to buy the county-owned La Grande Tract, which makes up 40 percent of the off-road park.



Nell Langford, who owns a home in Oceano and is a longtime opponent of the off-road park, said the Board of Supervisors should use its authority to impose a moratorium on off-road use to protect the public’s health.



On Monday, the San Luis Obispo County Health Commission approved a motion urging the Board of Supervisors to take any and all actions available to stabilize the dunes and promote vegetation growth to reduce particulate matter blowing onto the Mesa.



For people like Larry Ramey, who lives on Los Berros Road, the report pinpoints the cause of their respiratory-related health problems.



“I’ve climbed trees all my life and been healthy,” said Ramey, who operated a tree-trimming service and lived on Highway 227 before moving to Los Berros Road about 10 years ago.



In 2007, he said, he began experiencing breathing problems diagnosed as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD.



“Now I use a machine, like a vaporizer, to breathe this stuff in to open up my lungs,” Ramey said.



He said on windy days he has to remain indoors and keep his windows and doors closed so he won’t breathe the dust.



“I’m very concerned about the schoolchildren that live in the area,” he added. “They’re outside playing games and breathing in that stuff.”

Rick Tibben, who lives on the south side of Nipomo, suspects the airborne particulate matter has affected his health but has no proof.



“I know I’ve had numerous bouts of bronchitis and a hacking cough almost constantly since I moved here,” Tibben said. “I’ve also had incredible sinus problems.

”

Tibben said before moving to Nipomo in 1999, he lived in Huntington Beach.

“We have lots of sand there — I lived six blocks from the ocean — but they weren’t pulverizing it with off-highway vehicles,” he added.



Off-roading proponents say uncertainty about whether dust pollution is actually affecting individuals’ health is one problem with the report.



Kevin Rice of YourDunes.org, which organizes yearly trash cleanups in Oceano Dunes SVRA, pointed out that not one biologist was involved in the study, and the report doesn’t say how many people have been getting sick each year from dust pollution.



“It’s almost borderline reckless of the APCD to put out that vehicles are a major contributor to air pollution on the Mesa (without telling) people what the health risks are,” Rice said.



“If you don’t quantify the risks, what you have is rampant fear. That’s what people who want to close the park down want, because fear whips people up.

”

But Dr. Howard Dolinsky, who lives on the west end of the Mesa, said the effects of inhaling fine particulate matter are well known as a result of scientific studies.



He said it’s especially damaging to children and the elderly and can cause a serious disease called silicosis, an inflammation of the lungs that creates scar tissue and hinders the flow of oxygen into the bloodstream.



Dolinsky said when he and his wife moved to the area from Los Angeles, they weren’t told they were moving next to an off-highway vehicle park.



Now, there are times the pair of avid bicyclists don’t want to be outside because of the cloud of dust that hangs over their home.



“These particles are so small, they go up in the air and get carried 20 miles away,” he said.



But Rice said the report ignores the fact that the entire Mesa consists of “old sand dunes” that were blown there over the centuries, and that blowing sand is a natural phenomenon in the dunes.



“The report said there’s less blowing sand in areas of vegetation compared to areas that are open” and that the off-road vehicles are “denuding the vegetation,” he said.



But Rice said the vegetation was artificially planted to stabilize the dunes — particularly by Unocal in its oil fields — and is not native to the area.



“People will be saying we’re denying science, but the science is incomplete,” he said.

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Source: http://www.timespressrecorder.com/articles/2010/03/11/news/featurednews/news01.txt

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