Senator to Hold Airport Air Quality Hearing

Senator Ted Lieu will preside over , to review local, regional and federal air studies that address posed by pollution from Santa Monica Airport.  

Lieu (D-Torrance), who is head of the Senate Select Committee on Air Quality, will be joined by several pollution experts as well as local 11th District Councilman Bill Rosendahl. 

In July, the state senator asked the state Department of Toxic Substance Control to investigate pollution and blood-lead levels among residents living near the airport.

"Multiple studies have shown that residents near SMO—many of whom live in the Senate District I represent—ingest significantly higher levels of suspended particulate lead and ultra-fine particulate matter," Lieu wrote in the letter. "I have visited many of these homes and I believe the soil is also contaminated with lead and other toxic particulate matter."

According to a news release by the Senate Select Committee on Air Quality, experts due to testify at the Wednesday hearing include Dr. Phil Fine of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, who will review air pollution basics; Dr. John Froines of UCLA’s School of Public Health, who will outline how air pollution affects public health; and Dr. Shahram Yazdani of UCLA, who will make a presentation on health impacts.

The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at the Felicia Mahood Senior Center at 11338 Santa Monica Blvd.

Also, at 7 p.m. Monday in the Santa Monica City Council Chambers, 1685 Main St., the city's Airport Commission is holding a workshop to look at the results of a study on the economic impacts of operating the airport.

The report by from HR&A Advisors looks at the impact on the community's economy and on the direct impact to the city budget. Martin Wachs, director  of Transportation, Space and Technology for the Rand Corporation—which helped conduct the study—will talk about potential future for uses for the airport.          

The public is not only welcome to attend, but is encouraged to ask questions, either by submitting up to three written questions, or by requesting to speak at the meeting. Links with information on how to do either can be found on the Airport Commission's agenda for the evening, near the bottom.