FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 1, 1997
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality News Release

CONTACT:
Marcia Danab, DEQ, 503-229-6488

Portland Meets Air Quality Standards for Carbon Monoxide

The Portland region has another clean air success to celebrate. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) officially declared that as of October 2, the Portland area meets the federal air quality standard for carbon monoxide (CO).

EPA also has approved the Portland Area Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan designed to protect Portland area residents from unhealthy levels of carbon monoxide pollution over the next ten years as the region experiences unprecedented growth. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the City of Portland Office of Transportation worked together to write the plan.

The City of Portland and portions of Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas Counties had been classified by EPA as a nonattainment area for carbon monoxide because of unhealthful levels of the pollutant in the past.

With a clean bill of health for CO, the region now meets all federal air quality standards. Earlier this year, EPA redesignated the Portland-Vancouver area as a clean air region for ground-level ozone (smog).

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, poisonous gas that interferes with the body's ability to use oxygen. High concentrations can severely impair heart, brain and muscle functions. CO can cause dizziness, nausea, blurred vision, headaches, slowed reflexes and drowsiness. Prolonged exposure to even low levels can be dangerous for the elderly, expectant mothers, small children, and people with heart or cardiovascular diseases.

Motor vehicles produce more than 90 percent of carbon monoxide emissions in the Portland central city area. The highest levels of CO occur in the winter. The strategies in the plan, such as the Enhanced Vehicle Inspection Program and the Oxygenated Fuel Program, are designed to reduce vehicle emissions.

In the early 1970s, downtown Portland violated the federal 8-hour CO standard an average of once every three days. The standard is nine parts of carbon monoxide per million parts of air. An area violates the CO standard if it has more than one reading above the standard in one year.

The last violations of the CO standard were recorded at DEQ monitors at S.W. 4th and Alder in 1984 and at S.E. 82nd and Division in 1989.

"DEQ's Vehicle Inspection Program and tougher federal new-car emission standards, have contributed to this success in cleaning up our air," said DEQ Air Quality Division Administrator Greg Green. "Improvements in the vehicle inspection program and the other emission reduction strategies in the CO maintenance plan will ensure that we will continue to meet air quality standards over the next decade."

Several programs have played a significant role in reducing Portland area CO emissions:

• The Vehicle Inspection Program which dates back to 1975 in the Portland area is credited with reducing CO by 17 percent.
• Since 1992, oxygenated fuel (oxy fuels) is required from November through February in the Portland area. Oxy fuel is gasoline that is blended with additives that contain extra oxygen. The oxygen promotes more efficient combustion, which reduces tailpipe emissions of carbon monoxide up to 20 percent.
• Traffic flow improvements reduced stop-and-go driving that boosts CO emissions.
• Improved public transit including Tri-Met's light rail system.
• Active involvement by the Portland business community in encouraging their employees to use public transportation and other alternatives to drive-alone commuting including carpooling, walking and biking.

In the next decade, the Portland-Vancouver area is expected to gain 300,000 new residents, and nearly 250,000 workers will increase driving in the area by over 4.8 million miles per day.

To preserve the air quality improvements in one of the fastest growing areas in the Northwest, people from numerous agencies and advisory committees worked together over a five year period to plan the most effective strategies. DEQ worked with numerous individuals from Metro, Tri-Met, the City of Portland and the Portland Development Commission. Political and business leaders and individual citizens also shared their expertise.

The EPA-approved CO maintenance plan and redesignation to attainment will provide the following benefits for the Portland area:

• Assures protection from adverse health impacts of unhealthful CO levels
• Removes industrial growth impediments
• Protects against Clean Air Act sanctions on federal transportation funds
• Incorporates significant elements of the City of Portland's Central City Transportation Management Plan

Here is a summary of the major strategies in the Portland Area Carbon Monoxide Maintenance Plan:

Federal New Car Program

Stringent federal emission standards for new cars adopted in 1981 have been and will continue to be the most effective CO emission reduction strategy. As newer cars replace older cars, CO emissions from vehicles will continue to drop. Expected improvements in CO emission control technology include heated catalysts which will help reduce the higher CO emissions from cold starts.

Enhanced Vehicle Inspection Program

A new, more efficient emission test will more accurately identify pollution control equipment problems in vehicles that lead to excessive CO emissions. The new test will more than double the effectiveness of the current vehicle inspection process. DEQ plans to implement the Portland area Enhanced Vehicle Inspection Program in early 1998.

Vehicle Inspection Program Boundary Expansion

Over the past two years, DEQ expanded the Portland area Vehicle Inspection Program boundary to include Sandy, Estacada, Canby, Banks and Scappose, where more than 40 percent of residents commute by car to work outside of the area where they live. The Vehicle Inspection Program now includes areas where vehicle emissions from commuters contribute to CO pollution.

Transportation Control Measures

Local programs that reduce traffic congestion are key to maintain CO levels as population increases in the central city area of Portland over the next ten years. These include an average 1.5 percent increase in regional and local transit service; two additional light rail lines; and bicycle and pedestrian improvements.

Also included is the Metro 2040 Growth Concept, the regional land use and transportation plan which calls for increasing density within the central city area and building residences within walking distance of businesses and substantially expanding infrastructure for transit and other alternative modes.

Specific parking requirements from the Central City Transportation Management Plan also have been included.

For more information about DEQ's Air Quality Program, visit DEQ's Internet web site at http://www.deq.state.or.us/.