On Tuesday, Dec. 22, The South Coast Air Quality Management District posted its findings collected from air sampling tests in Irvine, near the All American Asphalt facility.

“Short-term air sampling is being conducted near the #Irvine All American Asphalt facility in response to community concerns. The first sample results are now online,” the statement read. 

The air sampling results can be found on the “Community Investigations” portion of the AQMD website.

The results are subject to an on-going investigation of the AAA facility, after hundreds of Irvine residents reported foul odor coming from the facility.

Irvine residents filed more than 800 complaints against the AAA facility between February 2019 and November 2020.

During a community meeting held via zoom on Thursday, Dec. 9, the public expressed concern and frustration regarding the potential toxicity being produced by the foul odor.

To address concerns, Bradley J. Whitaker, AQMD Senior Public Information Officer, explained that AQMD had deployed air sampling mechanisms at dual sites in Irvine – at Northwood High School and Canyon View Elementary School – analyzed for gaseous air toxics such as benzene, toluene and xylene.

“The air samplers were deployed on November 20. The first samples were collected on December 2,” Whitaker wrote in an email to Irvine Weekly. “The samples are analyzed at the South Coast AQMD laboratory for many different gaseous air toxic compounds such as benzene and toluene.”

However, Irvine residents continue to question why it took more than 800 complaints against the AAA facility for testing to begin.

While Whitaker explained that there is no minimum number of complains required for air sampling to test for air toxics, rather, it is done on “a case-by-case basis, depending on the nature of the investigation.”

air sampling irvine

“Complaints lodged against All American Asphalt in 2019 were specifically for asphalt and burnt rubber-type odors. From February to July 2019, a total of 30 complaints were received. In September 2019, there was a significant increase in the number of odor complaints filed against the facility,” Whitaker explained in an email to Irvine Weekly. “Our enforcement staff responded to complaints immediately, conducting surveillance operations in the community and on-site inspections. Since last September, South Coast AQMD inspectors have performed odor surveillance activities more than 75 times, were on-site at All American Asphalt as part of odor investigations over 30 times and conducted multiple in-person facility inspections.”

In terms of results of the current findings, notes associated with the Laboratory Results allude to the fact that there were non-threatening levels of air toxics presents in the samples collected by AQMD in Irvine.

“Results are within typical background levels and below health-based exposure levels,” the report states.

Whitaker added that while AQMD began air sampling in Irvine in October, progress was halted due to COVID-19, along with the Silverado Fire and the Bond Fire, which burned more than 15,000 acres combined in Irvine’s Silverado Canyon.

Read AQMD’s full air sampling report from the AAA facility near Irvine, here.

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