Editorials
A whale of a bad idea
We have always known that Southern
California suffers some of the worst air pollution in the
United States, but we were surprised to hear that drycleaners
are the second worst offenders among contributors to the
region’s bad air. But that seems to be what a South Coast
Air Quality Management district official was saying in a media
report that played nationwide in late September.
In a report that made the news from coast
to coast, people were told that it’s “a drycleaner
in their community” that is the largest source of
exposure to carcinogenic air contaminants. Well, OK, only the
second largest. Diesel exhaust is number-one, according to
Barry Wallerstein, executive director of SCAQMD.
Think about that the next time
you’re stuck behind a bus in traffic.
The problem with Wallerstein’s
position is that he and the government agency he works for seem
to be the only ones who believe it. Perc has been studied and
re-studied for many years now and no one else has come to that
conclusion.
But that may not stop SCAQMD from stopping
cleaners’ use of perc in the four-county area it governs.
Action on the proposal by the district’s governing board
has been scheduled, postponed and rescheduled several times
this year, but if it is approved Nov. 1 — the next
scheduled date — the clock will start ticking Jan. 1 for
a 15-year phase out that leads to a complete ban on the use of
perc in drycleaning.
That gives you an idea of the power the
air district wields. Despite strong evidence that counters
their position and despite the fact that no one else who has
studied the issue has proposed such a radical measure, the air
district can proceed with a measure that threatens the
livelihood of thousands of cleaners and their employees, not to
mention making comments in the press that spreads a toxic cloud
of suspicion over the whole industry.
We hope that when the air district’s
governing board takes up this issue it will show more sense and
fairness than we’ve seen from the air board’s
staff, which has pursued perc as if it were the Great White
Whale of air pollution. There are plenty of sane voices out
there, if they will only listen.
Making a good showing
The industry has faced more than its fair
share of adversity this past year. For many cleaners, it has
been a formidable struggle to grasp onto an ever-shrinking
market share being pulled down by a tough economy that’s
causing consumers to consider drycleaning less of a necessity.
Complicating matters on the West Coast is the South Coast Air
Quality Management District, which is pursuing a ban on perc
that could affect the entire industry substantially in the
future.
Of course, the future is never clear for
any business owner, but it sure seems muddier than usual for
drycleaners. Fortunately, the industry is doing its part to
clean up some of that mud.
The attendance at recent industry
gatherings has been nothing short of spectacular. Stellar trade
show efforts by the Pennsylvania and Delaware Cleaners
Association, the California Cleaners Association and the South
Eastern Fabricare Association — to name a few —
have genuinely given drycleaners a refreshing shot in the arm.
Certainly, all the equipment bought and sold has kept the
industry’s economy moving, but the shows haven’t
just been about the exchange of money from hand to hand.
They have also been about the exchange of
information from mind to mind.
The recent exhibitions have given cleaners
access to a great pool of information. Whether it’s how
to grow a business or comparing the pros and cons of each
drycleaning solvent or another important subject — such
as stain removal, customer service, pricing for profits and
fraud protection — cleaners have gathered at the
educational seminars looking to keep their business on the road
to success.
It may be a road riddled with bumps and
twists, but cleaners are used to that. For every challenge
conquered by the industry, there seems to be two more looming
on the horizon. Yet, it’s still comforting to know that
both the associations and cleaners are committed to working
together to ensure that we’re all on the right course.
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