McCabe School District chosen for dust abatement pilot project
EL CENTRO — Ongoing efforts to protect local schoolchildren from the respiratory effects of fine dust particles will continue with a dust abatement pilot project at McCabe School District, the Imperial County Air Pollution Control District announced Monday.
The ICAPCD board on Aug. 6 approved $147,127.85 for ground preparation, earthwork and spray application of a dust control product on 170,875 square feet of sensitive unpaved bus parking lots, unpaved bus drop off zones, unpaved alternative parking lot and unpaved areas along the perimeter of the school.
ICAPCD said these unpaved areas have regular-occurring vehicle traffic, which in turn generates fugitive dust (PM10) emissions that directly affect the health of students and faculty in the classrooms and playgrounds.
“The fugitive dust could exacerbate existing respiratory health issues for students and faculty, forcing individuals to remain indoors to avoid exposure,” ICAPCD said in a release. “This pilot project would reduce the amount of fugitive dust from these unpaved areas and allow students to safely participate in outdoor activities.”
ICAPCD Administrative Analyst Gil Rebollar said McCabe School District was selected only after a successful similar project, smaller in scale, was performed at Seeley Elementary School.
“The spraying of surfactant has been shown to suppress fine dust particles up to 125 percent more effectively than plain water,” Rebollar said.
Funding for the project is through the ICAPCD Clean Air Trust Fund and will have no impact to the general fund, the district said. The project is expected to be completed by Oct. 31.
“The Imperial County Air Pollution Control District’s Pilot Dust Abatement Project for McCabe Elementary School District is just one of the recent projects we have been doing to show the entire community of Imperial Valley that we want to protect and bring awareness to those that are extremely vulnerable and sensitive to our local air quality: our children,” Rebollar said.
He said additional pilot PM10 projects have been Houston Road east of Highway 111, Lotus ditch bank on Highway 80, and Seeley Elementary School. A new upcoming PM10 pilot project will soon begin at Ben Hulse Elementary School in Imperial.
Other the recent ICAPCD projects that Rebollar noted include:
• The upcoming installation of an air filtration system at Grace Smith School in Niland
• The upcoming installation of an air filtration system at Seeley Elementary School
• The paving of Sunflower Park’s east parking lot in El Centro (completed)
• The paving of Volunteer Park’s parking lot in Brawley (two-phases, completed)
• The paving of Swarthout Park west parking lot in El Centro (completed)
• The paving of two parking lots at Calexico Union High School (completed)
• The paving of Desert Museum’s parking lot (in progress)
• Field enhancement project at Debbie Pittman Park in El Centro to reduce fugitive dust (completed)
• The purchase of an electric school bus for Calexico Unified School District (in progress)
• The purchase of an electric school bus for Heber School District (in progress)
• The purchase of a clean-diesel school bus for Magnolia Elementary School in Brawley (completed)
• The replacement of a commercial lawn mower for Holtville School District (completed)
• The installation of two IVAN Air Monitors and initiation of a school flag program in San Pasqual School District (in progress)
“These do not include the additional projects that are in current discussion with our AB 617 Community Steering Committee to address the air quality in the Calexico-Heber-El Centro Community Corridor,” Rebollar said. “These include projects for Heber School District (parking lot paving project) and McKinley School in El Centro (parking lot paving project). We are anticipating a bulk of the first-year funding of AB 617 monies to be spent on indoor air filtration projects at all school districts within the corridor. This first year of funding of AB 617 monies is expected to be upwards of $8 million.”
Rebollar said ICAPCD intends to provide a project to every school district in the Imperial Valley; whether it be purchasing digital marquees to provide air quality updates, paving projects to mitigate dust, or expanding the flag program.
“The ICAPCD’s goal is to continue to bring awareness to our local air quality, while also making any effort to have projects completed to mitigate emissions from sources near schools and/or sensitive receptors.”