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AIR POU,UTION AT N1ilvHALL RANCH

INTRODUCTION

Smog as it has developed in Los Angeles in the past ten or
fifteen years is truly a major catastrophe. Only those who have ex=
perienced severe smog corrlitions there can appreciate the nuisance,
the economic loss, and the hazard to health and property that this
phenomenon represents. It is natural, therefore, that one of the first
things to consider in the development of a new town at Newhall Ranch is
the question of air pollutionG

At the present time there is .no air pollution problem in the
_ Eastern end of the Santa Clara Valley. We aim to keep it that way, to
the very best of our abilityo

In order to keep our present pure air, we must know just what
the contamimnts are that must be controlled, and how much of these con=
tamina.nts can be tolerated with the particular topographical and meteo•·
rological conditions th~t we have. We must also have a clear picture
of the sources from which the damaging contaminants cameo

In this report, we will not concern ourselves too much with
the chemical and physical nature of smog, except as it is necessary to
identify it~ What we will do is to try and tag it, and measure its
possibilities, ~o that we can know what to do to control ito .

At the present time the leakage of smog from the San Fernando
Valley into the Santa Clara Vnlley is negligibleo While it is conceivable
that greater concentrations of contaminants in the air leaking into our
valley could be detriment~l, it is also inconceivable that the people of
Los Angeles can tolerate a coreentration so great that it would present
any nuisance when leaked in small amounts into our valleyo For this
reason, this report will ignore the leakage factor as a potential problemo