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HEALTH SERVICES AGENCY ADMINISTRATION

(831) 454-4000 Fax: (831) 454-4770

October 15, 2008 AGENDA: October 21,2008

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS County of Santa Cruz 701 Ocean Street, Fifth Floor Santa Cruz, CA 95060

SUBJECT: Air Quality Problem in the Town of Davenport

Dear Members of the Board:

On October 3, 2008, your Board was informed by Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District (Air District) of a serious air quality problem in the town of Davenport. The Air District reported that they had discovered levels of hexavalent chromium (Chrome 6) in fugitive dust, being emitted by the cement plant (Cemex), which was eight to ten times higher than the local Air District standard. On October 7, 2008, your Board directed the Health Services Agency (HSA) to investigate the findings of the Air District and report back on October 21, 2008, on any actions taken to evaluate any health impacts in Davenport.

Cement Plant Status The cement plant is not currently operating its kiln or crushing clinker for the production of cement. This reduced state of operation is voluntary and primarily for economic reasons. The plant was placed in this operational status prior to the Air District’s notification to the Board. Cemex has committed to not resume their kiln operation and clinker crushing until they can acquire replacements for their current raw materials (mill scale and steel slag) and replace them with raw materials with a much lower Chromium content. The plant is still loading some trucks and rail cars from their silos, with product that was made using the higher Chromium formulation. Cemex officials report that they have instituted new operational control measures and are loading at a slower rate in an effort to minimize dust production.

Air District Activities The Air District resumed collecting air quality data on October 5, 2008 (Sunday) and has been collecting samples daily since that date. The first set of samples were sent to a laboratory that promised a quick turn-around time, however the results were reported with a detection limit higher than was useful for comparison or determining if the current levels of operation at the plant were protective of public health. Samples collected since that date been sent to a lab in southern California, the same lab used in analyzing the samples that brought about the Air District’s notification. The downside to using the lab in southern California is that it lengthens the turn-around times,for receiving the results. It is hoped that these results will be available by your Board’s October 21, 2008 meeting and included in the Air District’s report back to you.

The Air District also attempted to sample the indoor air quality at Pacific Elementary School and found their instrumentation was not capable of detecting concentrations low enough. The State

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Air Resources Board (ARB) in Sacramento has loaned the District four monitors suitable for determining these very low levels and measurements are to begin Thursday, October 16, 2008. The ARB will also provide laboratory services, which has the potential to speed up turn-around times and allow data to be reported to the community more quickly.

The Air District is in the process of hiring contractors to expand the investigation to soil and develop a more comprehensive air-monitoring plan that would include both indoor and outdoor samples.

There have been two community meetings at the Pacific Elementary School in Davenport. The first meeting (October 7, 2008) was intended for the parents of children attending the school. The second meeting (October 14, 2008) was a meeting to inform the entire community and offer an opportunity for questions from community members to a panel of experts. At the second meeting, the Air District released their Correction Plan (copy attached) which contains three primary elements: 1) Reduce Chrome 6 emissions to safe standard as soon as possible; 2) Determine indoor/outdoor levels of contamination and clear them; and, 3) Provide permanent compliance assurance.

Health Services Agency Activities Among the immediate health concerns was to determine if the drinking water sources had been impacted by the Chrome 6 in the fugitive dust. HSA Environmental Health was able to research historical drinking water and surface source samples dating back to 1978, with the most recent being collected on August 28, 2007. All of the historical results are well below the safe drinking water standard of 50 parts per billion, set by the State of California for Chromium. To determine current levels, samples were collected from Pacific Elementary School, San Vincente Creek and Mill Creek on October 6, 2008. The results from this most recent sampling event were verbally reported to Environmental Health on Tuesday, October 7, 2008, as “Non-Detectable” at a detection limit of 5 parts per billion (10 times less than the drinking water standard).

On October 8, 2008, Environmental Health staff went door-to-door in Davenport, New Town, and the Landing, and delivered information in the form of Air District’s notice, the County’s Health Advisory, and an Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) information sheet on Chromium. Each of these documents was offered in both English and Spanish and listed the dates for the community meeting (Tuesday, October 14, 2008) and your Board’s meeting (Tuesday, October 21, 2008). A third meeting that will be hosted by the Davenport Resource Service Center is scheduled for Wednesday, October 15,2008, at the Teen Center. The Teen Center meeting will be focused on conveying this information to the Spanish speaking community members and allow for them to have their questions answered.

HSA has spared no time or resources in involving the County’s Health Officer, Toxicologist, Epidemiologist, Geologist, Hazardous Materials Specialists, Drinking Water Program Specialist and Public Health’s Communicable Disease Control Unit personnel. HSA personnel have been in daily contact with the Air District, other agency professionals and private experts, in researching the health risks associated with hexavalent chromium. In working with the Northern California Cancer Center, staff have compiled data on the observed incidence of lung and bronchus cancer within the census tracks near the cement plant and compared this data with the expected incidence in the region (Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties). The findings show that in nearly all tracts the number of observed cases is less than half, and in all tracts it is less than expected (Table 1). While this data is certainly not conclusive, it is a positive indicator.

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At the request of the community who attended the Town Meeting on Tuesday October 14,2008, Environmental Health is creating a website where people can ask questions regarding Chromium 6 in Davenport. Questions will be directed to the Air District, State Air Resources Board, County Environmental Health, CEMEX, NRDC, Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, County Supervisor Coonerty’s Off ice or State Senator Joseph Simitian’s Off ice. The website scheduled to be operational by the October 17, 2008.

More data will need to be collected and analyzed, before we can be confident in our understanding of the potential effects of this discovery and fully evaluate the health impacts to our community.

It is, therefore, RECOMMENDED that your Board:

1. Accept and file this report on air quality health impacts in Davenport; and,

2. Direct the Health Services Agency to report back with further information on this situation by November 25,2008.

Sincerely, -a Health Services Agenc Director

RECOMMENDED: n

- Susan A. Mauriello County Administrative Officer

Attachments

cc: County Administrative Office County Counsel HSA Administration Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District

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Lung and bronchus cancer, males & females, all ages

All census tracts combined 1004.00 1005 .OO 10 12.00 1202.00 1207 .OO 1208.00

Table 1. Observed incidence of lung and bronchus cancer in census tracts 1004.00, 1005.00,1012.00,1202.00,1207.00, and 1208.00 compared to expected incidence in the region (Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito counties).

1998-2002 Observed Expected SIR' 99% CIZ

number of cases number of cases

33 67.1 0.49 0.30-0.76 0 0.36 0 . -14.5 5 10.78 0.46 0.01-1.3 1 8 9.34 0.86 0.27- 1.99

<5 * 9.03 0.33 0.04- 1.2 1 e5 10.18 0.40 0.07- 1.24 13 27.38 0.47 0.20-0.93

'SIR = Standardized Incidence Ratio = Observed number of cases/Expected number of cases. 'If the 99% confidence interval (CI) for the SIR contains 1, then any difference between the observed and expected number is not significant and could have been due to chance. *Case counts less than 5 are suppressed to preserve confidentiality

October 17,2008

Via Electronic Mail and Hand Delivery

THE HONORABLE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS County of Santa Cruz 701 Ocean Street Santa Cruz, CA 95060 Attn: Ms. Ellen Pirie, Chair

Re: CEMEX Facility in Davenport, California

Dear Chairwoman Pine:

Thank you for your letter of October 8,2008. We write to respond to your letter and the Board‘s resolutions for taking action in this matter which CEMEX strongly supported. We very much appreciated the opportunity to make a public presentation regarding these issues at the County Board of Supervisors’ meeting on October 7, 2008. At all times, we have provided our full cooperation with the Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District, the County Health Department and this Board. We share your goal of finding the cause of the hexavalent chromium (Cr6) findings and will continue to take actions to address and prevent the reoccurance of these issues. Additionally, we fully understand the concerns expressed by members of the community and we intend to immediately address those concerns.

This letter will hrther update you on the actions we have taken in response to the District’s findings. These measures include testing and monitoring, interim and permanent operational measures and community outreach:

1. Water Testing. We recently conducted water testing for hexavalent chromium (Cr6) in our inlet and outlet water streams from our facility. These tests provided results that showed levels of Cr6 were at non-detectable levels. We have also been informed by the County Health Department that their regular water testing of surface water in Davenport has consistentIy shown non-detectable levels for Cr6 in the water.

2. Air Testing. As my October 6 letter described, we have been in daily contact with the Air District to investigate the source of Cr6. Because of the recent discovery of the Davenport issues and the shared desire to address them quickIy, the investigation is still in its early stages and much of the information is being gathered and assessed. The significant risk levels under Proposition 65, which initially triggered these concerns, are deliberately set very low to provide a margin of safety to protect public health and the environment. Based upon the early

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testing results, the Air District has informed us that the background levels (1 2 cases in 1 million) of Cr6 -- which are unrelated to our plant operatioiis -- account for an impact to the Davenport community that alone would be above the significance levels of Proposition 65. We are also informed that general highway and truck traffic contribute to the background particulate concentrations. Comparable background levels used by the South Coast Air Quality Management District are about six times higher than the Proposition 65 significance levels and at levels comparable to those detected at the District air monitors located at the Davenport school. I

Since the October 7 Board meeting, the District has taken daily air samples assisted by the California Air Resources Board (CARB). We understand that CARE3 is providing to the Air District four additional air monitoring devices and the services of their certified testing laboratory. These new sampling devices will be more effective in obtaining samples as they are able to draw a higher volume of air (1 5 liters of air per minute). This allows them to collect a larger sample of particulate air matter for laboratory analysis. Because the levels of Cr6 are in the nanogram levels, a larger sample will allow a laboratory to perform a better analysis. Earlier District sampling used devices that drew 5 liters of air per minute and had collected very small amounts of particulate for analysis, on the order of two-billionth of a gram of the chromium material of concern, Cr6. We had hoped to be able to provide the Board with the results of the on-going daily air sampling but the test results were not available at the time of this writing.

3. Measures to Reduce Fugitive Dust. While additional testing data may provide information that can be helpful in addressing the Cr6 findings, our priority has been to take immediate action to reduce the potential for Cr6 fugitive dust using feasible methods to significantly lower the risk. To that end, we have worked closely with the District and our staff to investigate, design, and implement a series of additional projects to reduce the amount of potential cement and clinker dust around the plant. CEMEX has since completed many modifications to its operations and procedures, including:

a.

b.

C.

d.

e.

f.

Increasing maintenance of dust collection equipment.

Loading trucks slower to reduce potential dust and ensure that truck lids are closed immediately.

Doubling the size of the dust control maintenance crew until the dust control system is fully restored to its optimum level.

Implementing new work practices to empower employees to shutdown equipment and/or operations to prevent any dust incidents.

Increasing frequency of dust suppression through use of a watering truck.

Conducting more frequent inspections of the entire plant to reduce dust.

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' The Air District has also informed us that if the sampling results were analyzed using risk factors approved by the US. Environmental Protection Agency, which are also set very low to protect sensitive populations, the results would show risk levels below the significance levels. However, the state uses a more conservative risk factor in its calculation. This subject is admittedly complicated and we refer you to the District for a more complete explanation.

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Using closed-circuit cameras to monitor for dust.

Using tarp covers over the CKD pile.

Using sprinklers around the CKD pile.

Evaluating equipment for replacement and device improvements.

Inspecting for any leaks in plant equipment to seal systems, including installing dust preventing curtains and replacing chutes and hoppers.

Installing the newest technology loading spouts with their own dust collection equipment in the shipping area. We have included photographs and hrther description of this new equipment in Attachment A.

m. Adding sprinklers for additional water coverage around the plant.

Our work in this area is continuing. The air sampling discussed in Item No. 2 above is a key part of the effort to evaluate the effectiveness of these additional measures. When the results are available, we will have real time data regarding what we hope and expect to be a reduction in fbgitive dust emissions. Please know that there are currently other sources of fbgitive dust in the area, most notably construction and grading projects taking place near our facility and in Davenport. Additionally, in the past week we have observed agricultural operations around Davenport which have generated substantial dust. We will continue to work with the District to analyze the data and to identify the portions of the dust that may be coming from our facility after our implementation of these additional mitigation measures.

4. we have made the commitment to stop the use of steel slag and mill scale, both of which contain chromium, We will replace these materials with iron ore (note that iron is a necessary component in cement manufacturing, but comprises only about three percent of the total mineral composition). We expect upon resumption of our normal operations that this change will have a significant impact on the presence of Cr6 at our facility. We will work with the Air District to confirm these benefits through continuing air monitoring in the Davenport community.

Reduction of Chromium Inputs To Our Process. As we reported in our October 6 letter,

5. our commitment to the community and to the Board's recommended process. Part of that process involves outreach, participation, and communication to the community. Since the Board meeting, we have participated in community forums with the Air District and Health Agencies and other officials in the community of Davenport. We are also in daily contact with local residents that have questions and in regular communication with community groups and interested parties, including the Pacific School. We have also sought to respond quickly to requests for information from elected officials and sought to respond quickly to numerous requests for interviews and information from the media. See Attachment B.

Community Involvement and Transparency. In our last letter to the Board, we expressed

Our employees are also a key part of our efforts. We have held several meetings with our employees and union representatives, many of whom are part of the Davenport community, to answer questions about these issues. Our employees have responded with a positive attitude

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toward finding ways to improve our operations and have acted upon those intentions. We have also sought to empower our employees to both identify areas where we can better control fugitive dust and to recommend ways that we can more effectively reduce dust today and in the future. The Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently conducted employee testing at the Davenport plant. MSHA's results indicated that employees were under MSHA's permissible exposure levels for Cr6. For enclosed areas where workers encounter dust from our operations, we require the use of specially-designed personal protective equipment. This is nothing new. It is a mandatory requirement for workers in these areas. This equipment includes respirators which are equipped with dust filters that protect against inhalation of fugitive particles. See Attachment C for pictures of this equipment. The respirator decreases particulate dust exposure by 99.7 percent. We will continue to review and reinforce our training and requirements to insure that all of our worker safety procedures are strictly followed.

We gratehlly acknowledge the participation of the County, state officials, and community groups in these informational meetings and the valuable perspective they have provided us. Their comments have assisted in providing perspective and analysis of what can be a confising, numbers-driven issue. For example, State Senator Joe Simitian communicated that the proper response at this early date is concern until more data is developed and the problem is more clearly defined.

The public agencies have advised that it is not necessary to close the Davenport school at this early stage of their investigation. For more perspective, the Health Department advises us that they have used a rough screening tool to look at the expected incidence of lung cancer in the five census tracks surrounding our facility. See Attachment D. As described in the attachment, the incidence reported in the Department's data is approximately 50 per cent less than would be expected in this population. The Health Department also states that the concern should not be downplayed and that the identified risk must and shall be addressed. We refer you to the Health Department for a more compIete discussion of these points. We agree that sharing this information with the community has been exceptionally helpful.

At every level of our company, I can assure you that CEMEX is committed to actively addressing these issues. We continue to encourage the Board's input and participation as our action pIan moves forward. Please feel free to contact me at CEMEX Davenport for any discussions, questions or feedback.

Sincerely, n

Satish Sheth Vice President of Manufacturing CEMEX Pacific Region

Cc: Hon. Neal Coonerty Board of Supervisors, County of Santa Cruz

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Ed Kendig, Interim Air Pollution Control Officer Monterey Bay Unified Air Pollution Control District

Dr. Poki Namkung Santa Cruz County Health Officer

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Attachment A

Attachment B

Attachment C

Attachment D