Air District Officials Refuse to Enforce the Law, Allow Red Star/Lesaffre to Keep Operating Despite Polluter's Inability to Abate Odors or Comply with Emissions Limits in Proposed New Permit

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Every time you smell the "odor" call:

1-800-334-ODOR (6367)

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See Also:

12/19/02 West Oakland Community & Greenaction Demand Air District Deny New Permit to Red Star Yeast/Lesaffre as polluter flunks air tests and odors continue! Read the Press Release from the press conference and the campaign background!

Read Greenaction's Comments to Bay Area Air District Opposing Red Star's Permit Application and the Community Statement of Opposition to Red Star!

Read about the June 18th protest and the June 20th public hearing.

Check out the Oakland Tribune coverage and the SF Gate story on Environmental Injustice in West Oakland!

Read the San Francisco Chronicle article about the community fight against Red Star Yeast.

Community and Greenaction Denounce Pollution from Red Star Yeast and Government Complicity at Air District Meeting in West Oakland. Read about the meeting.

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Fact Sheet
Red Star Yeast/Lesaffre Corporation

• Red Star Yeast/Lesaffre is one of the largest fixed sources of toxic air pollution in Oakland.
• Red Star/Lesaffre is located at 5th and Mandela Streets in West Oakland, next to homes in a community heavily impacted by numerous pollution sources including a vinyl chloride contamination site, a freeway, massive diesel truck traffic from the Port of Oakland, and other toxic sites.
• Red Star/Lesaffre emits approximately 30,000 pounds per year of the cancer-causing chemical acetaldehyde into the air of West Oakland according to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
• Red Star/Lesaffre ranked 8th of all Bay Area facilities for cancer health risks, and 2nd in Oakland for air pollution health risks.
• Red Star/Lesaffre has applied to the Bay Area Air District for a new five year Title V Clean Air Act Permit that it must obtain in order to continue operating.
• For decades, the District allowed Red Star to operate under an exemption for food processors. Recently, the Air District officially revoked the food processor exemption and told Red Star in a letter that it must meet more stringent requirements. The company recently conducted key air pollution tests, which, according to the Air District, indicate that the company cannot meet these more stringent requirements.
• The failure of the air pollution tests indicate that Red Star/Lesaffre cannot comply with the conditions in the new permit they need to receive continue operating.
• The Air District's failure to enforce compliance with the more stringent limits results in the emission of illegal amounts of pollution into the West Oakland community.
• Despite dozens of complaints by the public regarding allegations of odors emanating from Red Star - the Bay Area Air Quality Management District continues to fail to take action to improve conditions for the community or to enforce the permit conditions requiring odor abatement.
• Instead of denying Red Star/LeSaffre's application for a permit renewal based on the emissions tests and citizen odor complaints, the Air District is improperly allowing the company to operate until June 2003 without a decision on the application for a permit renewal.