Valley air officials urge drivers to quit idling

Coming off a record-setting May-through-July period of clean air for the San Joaquin Valley, air officials are asking the public to be diligent in keeping down vehicle emissions now that school is back in session.

“Every year, we see elevated ozone as school starts,” said San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District spokesman Anthony Presto at the district’s Modesto office Wednesday.

Ozone – a corrosive gas harmful to lung tissue – is the dominant pollutant in summertime in the Valley, Presto said. It is formed when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds from vehicle emissions, factories, power plants and other sources mix and are baked by the sun.

Vehicles are the leading source of air pollution in the Valley, air officials say. And when parents idle their vehicles – some for up to a half hour – while waiting to pick up children from school, it comes at nearly the hottest time of the day, Presto noted. The Valley air also tends to be stagnant during that window of 2 to 3 p.m.

The air district has partnered with hundreds of Valley schools, including the Sylvan Union School District and Modesto City Schools, for the Healthy Air Living Schools program. The program gives schools the tools and materials to urge parents to park and turn off their engines, or “Turn the Key & Be Idle Free” when dropping off and picking up kids. The district is working on getting “No idling” signs outside schools, Presto said.

He gets why parents do it: It’s hot out, so to sit in a car, you want the air conditioning going. But it’s much better for the air if they get out of the cars and stand or sit in the shade.

Of course, the district also encourages more families to carpool, vanpool, or have students walk or ride bikes to school. It may not work for that band student who lugs a tuba, but for plenty of others, it will.

Primarily for pedestrian safety, some neighborhoods have begun what are called “walking school buses,” where a group of kids walks together led by a parent or parents.

The bottom line: Air officials want residents, public agencies and businesses to be mindful of keeping pollution in check and to “pay attention when we have an air alert,” Presto said. An air alert, which may last several days, is called when weather conditions are favorable to ozone accumulation.

During those periods, drive less and group your trips to minimize time and miles, Presto urged. Above all, he said, try to limit vehicle idling, whether picking up kids at schools or using drive-through services. Turn off the ignition when sitting in the drive-through at a coffee shop or fast-food restaurant, he said, or simply park and go inside.

“We’re seeing that people are getting the idea,” Presto said, because there have been fewer air alerts over the past several years. In 2011, there were four air alert episodes from August through October. In 2012 and 2013, there were two each. Last year, there were none.

For more air district information and resources, including its Real-time Air Advisory Network and Web-based Archived Air Quality system, go to www.valleyair.org.

This story was originally published August 19, 2015 at 4:36 PM with the headline "Valley air officials urge drivers to quit idling."