From Sfgate · · 2m
Tesla emissions near Bay Area school spark parent concerns
Parents demand more time to understand Tesla's potential air pollution increase near Lila Bringhurst Elementary.
In brief
Parents demand more time to understand Tesla's potential air pollution increase near Lila Bringhurst Elementary. Parents at Lila Bringhurst Elementary in Fremont, California are asking the Bay Area Air District to extend public comment period on Tesla's proposed emissions increase after receiving vague notification…
Parents receive vague air district notice
Fremont’s school district sent parents a notice about air pollution from Tesla’s factory near Lila Bringhurst Elementary.
“The Bay Area Air District asked for its help in distributing a notice about air pollution”
Tesla factory under air quality investigation
Tesla’s factory is under investigation by the Bay Area Air District for allegedly submitting inaccurate emissions reports.
“The public school is less than 1,000 feet from Tesla’s factory, which is under investigation by the air district for allegedly submitting inaccurate emissions reports”
Parents miss district email blast
Parents said the school district’s one email blast about air pollution didn’t catch their attention.
“There are a lot of messages that are moving around, and it’s really easy to miss stuff like this”
Substack post claims emissions increase
An Oct. 1 anonymously authored Substack post claimed Tesla would spew thirteen times more emissions from two aluminum furnaces.
“The article uses calculations from the air district’s own engineering documents to show how emissions were expected to increase”
Parents launch petition for comment extension
Parents created a Change.org petition that surpassed 1,000 signatures asking the air district to extend public comment period on Tesla’s proposal.
“A Change.org petition posted Saturday, which surpassed its goal of 1,000 signatures, called on the air district to pump the brakes on the permit”
Parents demand health information
Parents say they need more information to understand health risks from potential air pollution increase.
“We’re not asking for the impossible, we just are asking for a chance to understand”
Air district redacts key details
The Bay Area Air District redacted information about how much aluminum Tesla can melt and natural gas it can burn per hour.
“The agency redacts its own rules that it would impose on Tesla, including how much aluminum Tesla is allowed to melt”
Parents seek health precautions
Parents want to know if they need to take health precautions like buying air filters or masks for their children.
“If this was my kid, if this was my school, I would have masks on hand, and I’d be looking for metallic-looking dust”
School near Tesla factory
Lila Bringhurst Elementary is a new school with 1,250 students that opened in 2022.
“The Lila Bringhurst Elementary School is a relatively new addition to the school district, opening in 2022 with a population of about 1,250 students”
Parents worried about health risks
Parents say air quality concerns over Tesla started after seeing SFGATE’s prior reporting on the air district’s investigation.
“Lynn Chen, another Bringhurst parent, told SFGATE that air quality concerns over Tesla started after community members saw SFGATE’s prior reporting”
Child with asthma affected by pollution
A parent says their child has needed emergency room visits twice due to developing asthma.
“Robles told SFGATE her daughter, a student at Bringhurst, has needed to visit the emergency room twice due to developing asthma”
Parents need more time to decide
Parents say they need more time to understand health risks before making school choices.
“As parents, we have to make a lot of difficult decisions for our kids on a daily basis”
Air district deadline passed
The public comment period for Tesla’s emissions proposal ended Monday with no extension.
“The public comment period for community members has ended as of Monday”
Parents ask for more information
Parents are asking the air district to provide more details on potential health impacts from Tesla’s emissions.
“Can we get the information that’s supposed to be guaranteed to us by law?”
The takeaway
Parents at Lila Bringhurst Elementary in Fremont, California are asking the Bay Area Air District to extend public comment period on Tesla's proposed emissions increase after receiving vague notification.
