THE DIRTY HALF-DOZEN

Following is a list of the six most severe air pollution penalties assessed by the South Coast Air Quality Management District in August.

Company: Hughes Aircraft Co., Irvine, Fullerton Penalty: $3,000 Violation: Operating equipment without permits at two facilities in Irvine and excessive hydrocarbon emission from a plant in Fullerton. Company: Bau Furniture Manufacturing, Los Alamitos Penalty: $1,800 Violation: Failure to obtain an operating permit for, and excessive hydrocarbon emissions at, a paint spray booth. Company: Western Digital Corp., Irvine Penalty: $1,600 Violation: Failure to obtain permits to install a degreaser. Company: Dewey’s Rubbish Waste Management Inc., Irvine Penalty: $1,550 Violation: Failure to obtain permits for a vapor recovery system on a gas pump and failure to maintain that system and keep up required logs. Company: Microsemi Corp., Santa Ana Penalty: $1,200 Violation: Failure to obtain permits to operate four degreasers. Company: Anaheim Hills Cleaners, Irvine Penalty: $1,000 Violation: Improper operation of a vapor recovery system. Source: South Coast Air Quality Management District