Buncombe County Government, NC Buncombe News Updates, 20 Aug 2012

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From YouTube: Buncombe News Update - Gas Can Exchange

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WNC Regional Air Quality Agency (WNCRAQA) and the Buncombe County Solid Waste Department hosted a FREE gas can exchange program at the Buncombe County Landfill at 85 Panther Branch Road in Alexander. The exchange coincided with the weekly Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Friday August 10th from 9am to 3pm, while supplies last. Citizens brought their old EMPTY gas cans (that are not equipped with new spill and vent-proof features) to the event and exchanged each one for a new, environmentally friendly, Briggs and Stratton gas can. The new cans were available in 2-gallon and 5-gallon sizes, and there was a limit of 5 new cans per person. This purpose of this project is to reduce air pollution emissions. The WNC Regional Air Quality Agency has entered into an agreement with a corporate donor to receive and exchange the lower emitting gas cans for the benefit of the citizens in our area.

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Gas cans in the way we use them can be harmful to the environment and to our health. That's because gasoline contains volatile organic compounds, many of which are actually classified as hazardous air pollutants because of their toxicity. Emissions from gas cans occur when we are over filling our fuel tanks. They also can occur from permeation through the plastic walls of the gas container themselves and from the secondary vent holes. Of course, when we spill gas we get emissions that way too. So the newer gas cans have spill, proof and vent proof features.

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They also have thicker plastic walls that don't allow as much vapors to escape through the walls of the can themselves. You might not think about it, but storing your gas can inside your home either in your attached garage or in your crawlspace can actually be hazardous to your health, because you do have evaporation from those vent holes and through the actual plastic walls of the gas containers themselves.

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So storing a gas can in your attached living space like your garage or your basement, can actually be harmful to your health, because you're getting some of those toxic vapors into your house. The Western North Carolina regional air quality agency in the Buncombe County solid waste department are hosting a free gas can exchange here at the Buncombe County landfill.

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Today, from nine to three, we ask citizens to bring in their old gas cans the ones that don't have the new spill proof and vent proof features so that we could swap those out for these new, environmentally friendly gas cans that do have the thicker plastic walls, the vent, proof and spill proof features. You go to the store today. The only kind that you can buy are these newer, more environmentally friendly cans.

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The volatile organic compounds from the gasoline can really add up. You might not think, but trading in one gas can would do much of a difference. But EPA estimates that about 8 pounds of volatile organic compounds are emitted from the gas can each year so with this gas can swap that we're doing we're estimating a pollution reduction of about 3,000 384 pounds per year.

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Also, these volatile organic compounds contribute to some of our air quality problems. Here we have in Western, North Carolina, mainly ground-level ozone. The volatile organic compounds like those emitted from the gasoline cans react with nitrogen oxide from combustion sources to form ground-level ozone which can be hazardous to our health. The purpose of this project is to reduce air pollution emissions. It was funded by a major automobile manufacturer as part of an agreement with EPA to reduce emissions of volatile organic compounds.

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So our agency, the Western North Carolina regional air quality agency, entered into an agreement with the automobile manufacturer to receive the gas cans that they purchased, to swap them out with citizens in our area, we're taking the old, less environmentally friendly cans, destroying them and disposing of them properly and giving out the new, more environmentally friendly cans to benefit the citizens and reduce pollution here in our area. So today we ask the citizens to bring their old gas cans.

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The type that don't have the new, spill-proof and vent proof features to swap out for a new, more environmentally friendly can we're swapping out these cans. There are two and five gallon cans made by briggs & stratton they're, the new type, the new style that are environmentally friendly. Like we talked about earlier, that's actually the only kind that you can buy at a store today. So if you're interested in getting one of these new cans, you can purchase one at home improvement stores. You have any old gas.

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You can dispose of it safely at the Buncombe County landfill on household hazardous waste days on fridays, if you're a buncombe county resident, there is a charge of two dollars per gallon to dispose of any old gasoline.

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There are other things that you can bring to household hazardous waste day as well, like paint, electronics and other chemicals and items check their website for more information, and also you can check our website wnc air quality org for more information about the gas cans in general and to see if we might be having any more gas cans swaps in the future.

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