CHAIRS-LA

The Community Health and Air Quality Implications of Refinery Retirements in Los Angeles (CHAIRS-LA) Study is a collaboration with the University of California (Los Angeles and Irvine) and Yale University to measure exposures to air pollution and indicators of cardiopulmonary health in communities near oil refineries in Los Angeles County.

Wilmington, Carson, and Torrance are communities in the South Bay and Harbor Regions of Los Angeles. These three communities have some of the highest concentrations of air pollution sources in California, including major freeways and multiple oil refinery sites. Wilmington and Carson are also adjacent to the third largest oil field in the country, and the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. In December 2025, both sites of the Los Angeles Refinery in Wilmington and Carson were retired. The refinery near Torrance remains active as of 2026.

With the help of community partners Asian Pacific Environmental Network and Communities for a Better Environment, participants were recruited from neighborhoods near active or retiring refineries in the South Bay and Harbor regions of Los Angeles. Urine samples were collected from 86 participants in fall 2025. Another round of urine samples will be collected from up to 150 participants in fall 2026, about one year after the Los Angeles Refinery sites closed.

Biomonitoring California plans to measure metals and metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the urine samples. In addition, CHAIRS-LA is assessing participants’ lung function, airway inflammation, and blood pressure and collecting air pollutant measurements using FreshAir wristbands.

Results from CHAIRS-LA will help to:

• Track exposures to air pollutants emitted by oil refineries over time
• Examine the differences in exposures in communities near active and retired refineries
• Assess potential changes in exposures after the retirement of the Los Angeles Refinery