Increased pollution on Mesa linked to off-roading

April Chariton

Fine grains of sand that blow onto the Nipomo Mesa from the Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area could cause significant health problems for Mesa residents.

“The sand can travel deep into the lungs and get lodged there,” San Luis Obispo County Air Pollution Control District Executive Director Larry Allen told about 150 people Wednesday night.

The Air Pollution Control District held a public workshop in Arroyo Grande to present findings of a recently completed study that points to destabilized sand dunes as the primary source of pollution on the Mesa.

The study concludes off-road vehicles in the Oceano Dunes SVRA break up a natural crust that forms on the sand dunes and the dust is then blown from the five-mile stretch of beach onto the Mesa.

“Once (that sand) is deep in your lungs, it can’t get extracted,” Allen explained.
He said long-term exposure to particulate matter, like the fine, coarse sand particles on the Mesa, can lead to many upper respiratory illnesses and even premature death.

Studies have linked exposure, even short term, to increased incidence of asthma and bronchitis in both children and adults, as well as heart and lung disease, according to Allen.

“Health studies show it’s quite a concern,” Allen said, adding sand contains silica, which is a carcinogen.

He also noted some health studies conclude long-term exposure to high levels of particulate matter cause as many yearly deaths as exposure to second-hand smoke and traffic accidents do.

Dr. Tom Cahill, of the Delta Group, which participated in the study, told the audience the size of the dust particles found on the Mesa were finer than any he has ever seen in 30 years of studying dust pollution.

“It’s enough to make me worry a little,” Cahill said.

The APCD commissioned the most recent study after a 2004 study couldn’t determine whether off-roading in the dunes played a direct or indirect role in the high levels of particulate matter on the Mesa.

According to the study, dust plumes kicked up by the hundreds of off-highway vehicles driven in the dunes were only a small contributing factor to the Mesa’s air pollution, and emissions from the OHVs also contributed very little to the pollution.

The first study only concluded that the increased particulate matter on the Mesa was primarily caused by the sand blowing off the dunes, but it didn’t look at how the sand shifted, when it moved or why.

“There’s something different about the sand (in the Oceano Dunes SVRA),” said Joel Craig, who has spent the last eight years studying the dunes and increased particulate matter on the Mesa. “There’s a lot more sand movement in the SVRA.”

The increased sand movement at the Oceano Dunes compared to other dunes that don’t have vehicle use also is attributed to off-road vehicles breaking the sand’s crust, Craig said.

The study was conducted through three independent investigations over a 12-month period using sophisticated air monitoring and analytical technologies, according to the APCD.

The 200-plus page study report is expected to be presented to the APCD board of directors at its March 24 meeting. The board meets at 9 a.m. at the County Government Center, 1055 Monterey St., San Luis Obispo.

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Source: http://www.santamariatimes.com/news/local/article_5b616d9a-2760-11df-9899-001cc4c03286.html

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