SACRAMENTO - The Air Resources Board announced today that during the fourth quarter of 2011 it settled 33 cases of air quality violations by trucks and buses, mostly for failure to properly conduct and pass self-inspections aimed at measuring vehicle smoke emissions to ensure state requirements are met.

Of the $226,950 collected, $170,400.75 went to the California Air Pollution Control Fund to support research to improve California’s air quality.  In addition, $56,549.25 went to the Peralta Community College District to fund classes at participating California community colleges under the California Council for Diesel Education and Technology program.

“The Air Resources Board has a long history of outreach to businesses to keep them informed about how to keep in compliance with state laws,” said Paul Jacobs, Chief of ARB’s Mobile Source Enforcement Branch. “When companies fail to make necessary changes or neglect to do what is required of them, we have to take action in order to protect public health.”  

Fines totaled $$226,950; none from this group exceeded $25,000.  The five companies paying the highest amounts were:

• Dole Fresh Fruit, fined $24,750 for failing to properly label its diesel-powered Transport Refrigeration Unit (TRU) generator sets according to ARB regulations.
• Hendrickson Trucking Inc., fined $19,875 for failing to properly self-inspect its diesel trucks to assure the vehicles met state smoke emission standards.
• Dynalectric Los Angeles, fined $15,750 for failing to properly self-inspect its diesel trucks to assure the vehicles met state smoke emission standards.
• United Food Group LLC, fined $13,725 for failing to bring the company’s TRUs into compliance with state requirements, and for failing to properly self-inspect its diesel trucks to assure the vehicles met state smoke emission standards.
• Harrison Trucking, Inc., fined $13,175 for failing to properly self-inspect its diesel fleet to ensure compliance with state smoke emission standards.

Diesel exhaust contains a variety of harmful gases and over 40 other known cancer-causing compounds. In 1998, California identified diesel particulate matter as a toxic air contaminant based on its potential to cause cancer, premature death and other health problems.