SACRAMENTO – Last week Service Rock Products paid $42,000 to settle truck emissions violations that occurred in the high-desert area of California in 2005 and 2006.

Service Rock Products, based in Victorville, Calif., provides concrete, aggregate and other building supplies to clients as well as offering material transport service. An ARB enforcement audit found that the company had not been inspecting its trucks annually for smoke emissions.

"The inspection program is a necessary and simple step to ensure that vehicles stay clean and meet California's standards on air quality. By following these standards we can achieve healthier air for our state," said ARB Chairman Mary D. Nichols.

The inspections are designed to make sure that diesel trucks meet California emissions standards. Failing to conduct these inspections can lead to an increase of toxic diesel particulate matter and smog-forming nitrogen oxides in the air.

As part of the settlement, Service Rock employees responsible for the inspections must attend a mandatory class on diesel emissions within the next year. The company must also provide documentation to ARB that the inspections are being carried out for the next four years. Lastly, Service Rock must ensure all its diesel trucks are up to federal emissions standards for the vehicle model year and are properly labeled with an emission control label.

Per the terms of the settlement, Service Rock will pay $42,000 in penalties; $31,500 will go to the California Air Pollution Control Fund, which provides funding for projects and research to improve California's air quality with the remaining $10,500 to Peralta Community College District to fund emission education classes.

A decade ago, the ARB listed diesel particulate matter as a toxic air contaminant in order to protect public health. Exposure to unsafe levels of diesel emissions can increase the risk of asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases. California has aggressively worked to cut diesel emissions by cleaning up diesel fuel, requiring cleaner engines for trucks, buses and off-road equipment, and limiting unnecessary idling.