Air monitor moves in Air monitor moves in (May 14, 2004)

Officials to start taking samples on May 21

By Grace Rauh

A new air monitor is moving into Mountain View and will take its first samples May 21, according to an official from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.

The monitor will be installed in a closet between the bathrooms at Whisman Park to test for the cancer-causing solvent tricholoroethene (TCE) and other toxins.

The monitor will take air samples over a 24-hour period, every 12 days.

For nearly 25 years, the air district operated a monitor at Mountain View Fire Station No. 2 on Cuesta Drive, but the system was moved to Sunnyvale in 1999 when the fire station was renovated. City officials have worked to speed up the proposal to bring an air monitor back to Mountain View as quickly as possible.

"Our interest was to accommodate the needs and the recommendations of the community and the EPA and the air district and to get this rolling," said Kevin Woodhouse, Mountain View's environmental management coordinator.

The air district operates 31 air-monitoring stations throughout the Bay Area.

Although some community groups will likely track the air monitorís results, many regular park visitors may not even realize it is there.

The monitor will collect samples above the roof of the closet where there is good air flow, said Eric Stevenson, air-monitoring manager for the air district.

The sample line will resemble a piece of plumbing, "so most people probably wonít even notice it," he said.

Air district officials are still exploring ways to disseminate the monitorís findings to the community. Stevenson said they will send the results directly to local groups if need be.

The Mountain View-Whisman School District, the city and the air district signed an agreement last week that stipulates the air district can take samples at the site for one year. A new contract will have to be negotiated between the three parties when the current agreement expires. The restroom at Whisman Park is on school property, but is maintained by the city.

E-mail Grace Rauh at grauh@mv-voice.com

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