DCA Director Charlene Zettel Promotes Clean Air in the Central Valley

SACRAMENTO, Calif.--June 8, 2006--California Department of Consumer Affairs Director Charlene Zettel visited the Central Valley today to promote clean air at the Energy and Clean Air Business Exposition in Fresno.

Director Zettel delivered the keynote address, in which she discussed Governor Schwarzenegger's clean air programs and promoted actions that Central Valley businesses can take to help create a cleaner California.

"Your attendance here today is evidence that you truly care about improving the Central Valley's air quality," said Charlene Zettel, Director of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. "Let's continue to work together to ensure that California is a safer place to live, work and raise our families."

To promote the Help California Breathe Easier campaign, Director Zettel crushed high polluting cars from the Bureau of Automotive Repair's (BAR) Consumer Assistance Program (CAP) at two events throughout the day.

The Help California Breathe Easier campaign was launched in March 2005 to raise public awareness about the negative health effects of vehicle-produced air pollution, particularly on children, and to promote the CAP, which pays for up to $500 in smog-related repairs on qualified vehicles or pays motorists $1000 to permanently retire their high polluting vehicles by having them crushed.

At the campaign's launch Governor Schwarzenegger vowed to remove 15,000 high polluting vehicles from California's roadways by the end of June 2006. As of April 2006, more than 15,000 vehicles have gone through the Vehicle Retirement program since the launch of the campaign representing 900 tons of smog-forming pollutants removed from California's air.

According to the 2003 California Health Interview Survey, one of every six California children suffers from respiratory disease. Another recent study indicates that in the San Joaquin Valley alone air pollution is responsible for $3.2 billion in health care costs each year.

For more information about Help California Breathe Easier or the CAP, visit www.BreatheEasier.ca.gov or call (800) 952-5210.