The story of Smog – Non attainment Ozone for the folks at the EPA –is at the heart of the creation of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), the first among equals that address the air pollution that is an inevitable by-product of industrialized societies and that are a concern of the U.S. citizenry since WWII.

In the late 40’s the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors established one of the nation's first programs aimed at addressing hazardous air pollution. The Los Angeles County Air Pollution Control District as it was called later created SCAQMD in 1976 as part of a system of agencies (Air Quality Districts) tasked with monitoring and reporting on Air Quality.

By 1990, SCAQMD had outlawed the sale & distribution of petroleum based, Hi-VOC charcoal lighter fluid in Orange Co., Los Angeles Co.& Parts of Antelope valley, San Bernadino & Riverside counties of Southern California.

In order to avoid cascading sets of bans on the sale & distribution of Hi-VOC Charcoal Lighter Fluid, the industry began reformulating the chemical components of charcoal lighter fluid in order to achieve compliance with Rule 1174 which reads: “A person shall not supply, sell, or offer for sale any material and/or methods used to ignite barbecue charcoal within the District, unless it has been demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Executive Officer, in accordance with District Test Protocol, that the VOC emissions resulting from the ignition of the barbecue charcoal are less than / or equal to 0.02 pound of VOC per start.”

This means certified testing for approval to sell any materials used to ignite lump wood charcoal or briquettes. When you are a significant player as the world’s 7^th largest economy the private sector pays attention to what you can sell there. In a future post, we will describe the process of having the VOC emissions tested and approved.