Trying to meet air quality goals can sometimes prove to be a s-l-o-w process.

Case in point: local printers and lithographers, who are now asking for a third extension of the deadline for a required switch to low-emitting solvents for some of their operations.

The board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District will consider granting a year’s extension, to Jan. 1, 2010, to allow more time for the printing industry to come up with an effective low-emission solvent for the cleaning of ink equipment and press screens.

Printers and lithographers had faced a Jan. 1 deadline to come up with such a solvent, but the solutions they tested did not meet performance standards.

Coming up with an effective low-emission solvent for the ink and press screens has been difficult. That’s a problem because

federal and state clean air laws require the district to impose steep reductions in emissions of smog-forming compounds used in the solvents.

The AQMD in 1999 set a 2005 deadline for the printing industry to transition to new solvents. To help the industry come up with these alternatives, the agency funded research and tests. Most of the tests were successful and the industry did switch to low-emission solvents for most of its operations.

But new solutions for cleaning ink application equipment and press screens did not meet industry performance standards. Some solutions left residues on the equipment that then stained the printed products.

As a result, the AQMD granted the printing industry’s request for a deadline extension until Jan. 1, 2008. But at that date the industry and AQMD researchers still had not created a cleaner that met the performance standards. So the agency granted a one-year extension.

New year, same story: AQMD workers have proposed granting yet another one-year extension, to Jan. 1, 2010. This time, AQMD staff is more optimistic.

“New compliant cleaning materials have recently been introduced into the marketplace and have demonstrated some positive results,” according to an AQMD report

Injury Postings

If you haven’t posted your workplace injury and illness log yet, there’s no time like the present.

Most employers with 11 or more employees are required to post a log in a workplace common area listing all workplace-related injuries and illnesses that occurred during 2008. The log is supposed to be posted from Feb. 1 through April 30. Form 300A, which can be obtained from the state Department of Industrial Relations, requires employers to post the number of injuries, and the type and severity of injury that occurred.

The form must still be filled out and posted even if there were no workplace-related injuries or illnesses reported during the previous year. For companies with multiple facilities, a separate log must be filled out and posted for each facility in the state.

“These summaries can be an effective tool in helping businesses reduce workplace injuries,” said Department of Industrial Relations Director John Duncan. “The summary is designed to create safety awareness in the workplace for employers and employees so similar injuries can be prevented in the future.”

Employers in “low-hazard” establishments in the retail, services, finance and real estate sectors are exempt from the law, as are employers with 10 or fewer employees.

For more information, log on to the department’s Web site at dir.ca.gov/DOSH/EmployerInformation.htm.

Business Tax Amnesty

Los Angeles city officials are close to approving another tax amnesty to encourage companies that have not filed business taxes to do so without penalty.

The last business tax amnesty, launched in 2001, generated $26 million in additional revenue for Los Angeles. This time, the city’s Office of Finance estimates it will draw between $10 million and $15 million in additional revenue. One reason for the smaller take: City officials believe they’ve already captured most of the companies that had avoided paying their business taxes.

The tax amnesty proposal is before the City Council for approval; if passed, it would run from May 1 through July 31. Businesses can file any outstanding business taxes during that window without penalty charges.

Staff reporter Howard Fine can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 227.