Bay Area Air Quality Management District

Select Year: 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990

An Air District staff member demonstrates equipment used to measure air toxics at the San Rafael monitoring station. In 1985, monitoring of toxic air pollutants in the ambient air began at five sites in the Bay Area, using equipment provided by the California Air Resources Board and operated by the Air District.

The last half of the 1980s was a time of tremendous upheaval, from environmental disasters such as the nuclear meltdown in Chernobyl and the crash of the Exxon Valdez in Alaska, to seismic political events like the fall of the Berlin Wall and the student protests in China's Tiananmen Square.

In the late 80s, the Bay Area experienced its own seismic shake-up--literally--in the form of the Loma Prieta earthquake. But after all the dust settled, this was an era in which great progress was made on behalf of the environment.


	In 1985, leaded gasoline was officially banned throughout the United States. In one of the great air quality success stories, lead concentrations in the air dropped as much as 99 percent, to levels that are virtually undetectable by standard monitoring equipment.

1988 in particular was a banner year for air quality in California, with the adoption of the California Clean Air Act, which established specific requirements for achieving the state's more stringent air quality standards. For the first time, transportation control measures came under Air District purview, and requirements for alternative fuel vehicles were enumerated. Civil and criminal penalties for air quality violations were revised to a maximum of $25,000 per day.

The Smog Check program marked its first anniversary in 1985, with preliminary data showing a 17 percent reduction in tailpipe emissions. Of the vehicles tested that first year of the program, 72 percent passed the test the first time around.

Staff members from the Air District's meteorology section check data at a weather station in Petaluma. In the mid-1980s, the Air District built a new weather data collection network developed specifically for air quality forecast and modeling needs.

In 1986 the Air District adopted the most comprehensive air toxic reduction plan in the country and approved the establishment of an internal toxic evaluation section to begin the next fiscal year.

The Air District racked up more firsts in 1989, with the adoption of landmark rules controlling emissions from marine lightering operations and from large commercial bakeries. It was also the year that public transportation became, for awhile, less of an option and more of a necessity, as the Bay Bridge was closed for a month in the aftermath of the Loma Prieta earthquake.

And in 1989 a record low of only four days over the national air quality standard for ozone was logged--starting a trend that would eventually lead to a change in the Bay Area's federal ozone attainment status.

1985

For the first time in 20 years of records, there were no exceedances of the federal ozone standard during the months of August and September.

Ambient toxics monitoring begins at five sites using equipment provided by ARB and operated by the Air District.

1986

The Bay Area's ten-point program to reduce toxics, the most comprehensive air toxic reduction plan in the country, is adopted by the Air District's Board of Directors.

The Bay Area's toxic monitoring network doubles to 10 stations.

1987

The Air District's Board of Directors endorses Contra Costa County's transportation systems management ordinance as a model for encouraging land-use decisions that minimize single-passenger auto use.

The state of California passes Assembly Bill 2588, the Air Toxics "Hot Spots" Information and Assessment Act. Companies throughout the state are required to provide information to the public about the health impacts of their toxic emissions. The Air District uses this information to target certain toxic source categories for regulation.

1988

The California Clean Air Act is adopted by the state legislature. This act sets specific requirements for achieving the California air quality standards, which are more stringent than the federal standards. These requirements include transportation control measures and requirements for alternative-fuel vehicles. It also revises the civil and criminal penalty schedule for air pollution control violations, with a new maximum penalty of $25,000 per day.

1989

The Air District's Board of Directors adopts the first regulations in the nation limiting organic emissions from large commercial bakeries and marine vessel loading and unloading.

1990

The U.S. Congress passes the 1990 federal Clean Air Act Amendments, which include control strategies for toxic substances and for pollutants causing global warming, acid rain, and ozone depletion. The amendments also create a national permits program for major emitting facilities, known as Title V.

The Air District's Board of Directors adopts the first rule in the nation limiting emissions from aerosol spray products.

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