UNOCAL RECEIVES CERTIFICATION IN CLEAN AIR PROGRAM

Unocal Corp. has won certification by California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (Scaqmd) as a licensed car scrapper. Certification occurred under Scaqmd's Rule 1610. It will allow Unocal to earn air emission credits by buying and scrapping old cars as an alternative method of complying with stationary source emission rules at company plants. Scaqmd will approve scrapping programs project by project. Rule 1610, which offers a 1.2:1 ratio on emission credits, will allow

May 17, 1993

2 min read

Unocal Corp. has won certification by California's South Coast Air Quality Management District (Scaqmd) as a licensed car scrapper.

Certification occurred under Scaqmd's Rule 1610. It will allow Unocal to earn air emission credits by buying and scrapping old cars as an alternative method of complying with stationary source emission rules at company plants. Scaqmd will approve scrapping programs project by project.

Rule 1610, which offers a 1.2:1 ratio on emission credits, will allow businesses to choose compliance approaches based on cost and efficiency, Unocal and Scaqmd said.

Unocal reckons scrapping heavily polluting cars will reduce air emissions by 20% more than if a company simply modifies a facility.

WILMINGTON PLAN

Unocal later this year will start a program at its Los Angeles refinery in Wilmington to buy old cars and apply the credits against regulatory requirements under a new vapor recovery rule for marine terminal operations at its facilities in Los Angeles Harbor.

The refinery at first will buy as many as 500 pre-1972 model year passenger cars and light trucks. The engines and exhaust systems will be removed and destroyed, and the remaining parts will be sold to a licensed salvage firm for recycling.

Unocal said emissions from the pre-1972 vehicles that will be bought under its program are estimated at 55,000 lb/year of hydrocarbons, 15,000 lb/year of nitrogen oxides, and 300,000 lb/year of carbon monoxide.

Unocal will receive mobile source emission reduction credits of 46,000 lb/year of hydrocarbons and 12,500 lb/year of nitrogen oxides for 3 years. No credit will be given for the reduction in carbon monoxide emissions.

Unocal will use credits from scrapping accomplished this year to offset marine loading emissions in 1994-96.

Unocal in 1990 started its Scrap I program, to which Scaqmd contributed $100,000 (OGJ, Oct. 29, 1990, p. 30), removing 8,400 pre-1971 vehicles from the road and eliminating 12.8 million lb/year of potential air pollution from Los Angeles. The program spawned Scaqmd's Rule 1610.