LAX Needs to Reduce Pollution, Says Councilman Bonin

Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Bonin called Wednesday for a report on efforts taken to reduce pollution from jet fuel and ground vehicle emissions experienced in communities near Los Angeles International Airport.

A recent air pollution study, conducted as part of a 2006 settlement agreement involving LAX, found higher levels of ultrafine particles in communities near the airport than in other urban areas, Bonin said in a council motion introduced Thursday.

The extremely tiny particles from airport activity carry toxins into the lungs that later become lodged in tissue or absorbed into the bloodstream, according to his motion.

Exposure to such particles is linked to heart and respiratory disease, according to research by the Southern California Particle Center at UCLA, according to Bonin's motion.

The LAX Air Quality and Source Apportionment Study was conducted by Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that runs LAX and other airports.

"LAX should not only be a world-class airport, but also a first-class neighbor," Bonin said. "The results of LAWA's recent air quality study are crucial to people living in communities near LAX, as well as the traveling public, and we need to be better informed about the possible health impacts caused by pollution from this potentially dangerous form of jet emissions."

Residents in communities such as Playa del Rey, Westchester, El Segundo and Lennox are concerned that the particles could negatively impact them where they "live, work and play," the motion reads.

"People are justifiably concerned about how this air pollution affects the health of their families," Bonin said. "The health and safety of our neighborhoods must come first."

Bonin wants LAWA staff to report to the City Council on the study and offer an "overview of environmental mitigation efforts" involving the ultrafine particles.

- City News Service