CHARBROILING POLLUTION PROBLEM

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Air district plans to crack down on eateries' charbroiling of beef Contra Costa Times ^ 11/27/7 Denis Cuff
Posted on 11/27/2007 8:45:06 PM PST by SmithL

"Beef: It's what for dinner," the ads say.
Beef: It's also the target of an air pollution rule proposed to reduce charbroiler emissions from Bay Area restaurants.
The region's nine-county pollution agency said Monday it has revamped a proposed charbroiler pollution rule so emission controls would be required only at restaurants that cook large amounts of beef.

Charbroiling beef produces more fine smoke particles, a health threat to people, than grilling less fatty chicken, shrimp or vegetables, pollution managers say.
"We believe we have a very good proposal that goes after the biggest pollution source from charbroilers, beef," said Jack Broadbent, chief executive officer of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

One statewide restaurant association still opposes the rule even though the group is less upset now that the revamped proposal would exempt places that charbroil chicken and fish or only small amounts of beef.
"The new proposal is an improvement, but the bottom line is they are still proposing very expensive pollution control technology," said Johnnise Foster Downs, the California Restaurant Association's director of local government affairs.

The district air board will consider the charbroiler rule after a public hearing at 9:45 a.m. Dec. 5 at district headquarters in San Francisco.
Steakhouses and other restaurants would have to install pollution control devices by Jan. 1, 2013, if those businesses met each of two standards for under-fired charbroilers, which have a slotted grill heated from below.

The grills must be 10 square feet or larger, and the restaurants must charbroil at least 800 pounds of beef in a week, according to the new proposal.
A different standard of 400 pounds of beef per week would apply to less polluting, fast-food type charbroilers that cook foods on a conveyor belt heated from both below and above.
Gayle Uilkema, an air board member and a Contra Costa County supervisor, said the new beef-based proposal is fairer and less worrisome to mom-and-pop-type restaurants.

"I don't want to drive small restaurants out of business," she said. "I don't feel it's unfair to focus on beef because it's the biggest emitter of these particles that can affect public health."
The Bay Area fails to meet a tougher new federal health standard for fine particles on 20 to 30 nights a year, the air district said.

The California Restaurant Association, however, called the compliance cost of the rule too high -- an estimated $30,000 to $60,000 per restaurant to install equipment.
Charbroiler pollution is small compared to diesel cars, the group said.
"If it made a huge impact in pollution, I could understand, but charbroilers are not a big source," said Foster Downs.

Commercial charbroiling in the Bay Area emits about 6.9 tons a day of fine particulates and another 1.1 tons a day of smog-forming organic gases, the district estimates.
The proposed rule would produce a 90 percent reduction in fine particle emissions among the highest-polluting beef charbroiling restaurants, according to an air district report.
The Golden Gate Restaurant Association, which represents 900 Bay Area restaurants, has taken a neutral stand on the rule.

"We feel they listened to our concerns and came up with a reasonable compromise," said Kevin Westlye, executive director of the association.