Air Pollution
Environmental Defense Lists 50 Cities with the Dirtiest Air
Environmental Defense's new report, The Dangerous Days of Summer, ranks the top 50 cities where the worst summer air pollution impacts the greatest number of kids. Washington, D.C. ranks #6 with the sixth highest number of "dangerous summer days" - days with unhealthy levels of smog and soot that affects the most kids. The top ten cities with the most dangerous days: Los Angeles, Riverside-San Bernardino, New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington DC, Houston, Baltimore, Atlanta and Detroit
Twelve Additional Areas now Meet National Air Quality Standards for Fine Particle Pollution
April 2005 - - Environmental Protection Agency has added twenty-one counties in 12 areas across nine states to the list of counties that meet the nation's new, more protective air quality standards for fine particle pollution (PM2.5). Across the United States, there are 30 states designated as "in attainment." These areas are home to over 197 million people. The 12 additional newly designated attainment areas include more than 5 million people and represent continued progress toward cleaner air and improved public health.
The designations made by EPA in December 2004 were based on 2001-2003 air quality data. Following these designations, EPA provided an opportunity for states to submit updated, quality-assured, certified air quality data for 2002-2004 because EPA originally designated PM2.5 nonattainment areas so close to the end of 2004. The addition of these 12 new attainment areas updates the designations issued by EPA in December 2004. The December 2004 designations become effective today (90 days following Federal Register publication).
After reviewing the 2002-2004 air quality monitoring data provided by the states, EPA found that eight areas previously identified as not meeting the national air quality standards should be designated as "in attainment." These areas and the counties include:
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Columbus, GA-AL (Muscogee, GA and Russell, AL counties);
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San Diego, CA (San Diego county);
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Athens, GA (Clarke county);
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Elkhart, IN (Elkhart and St. Joseph counties);
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Lexington, KY (Fayette and Mercer [partial] counties);
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Toledo, OH (Lucas and Wood counties);
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Youngstown-Warren, OH-PA (Columbiana, OH, Mahoning, OH, Trumbull, OH, Mercer, PA); and
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Marion, WV (Marion, Monongalia [partial] and Harrison [partial] counties).
In addition, based on updated 2002-2004 air quality monitoring data, EPA is also designating as in attainment four areas identified in December 2004 as "unclassifiable." These single county areas include:
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Dekalb County, AL;
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Etowah County in Gadsden, AL;
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Delaware County in Muncie, IN; and
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McMinn County, TN.
The 39 final nonattainment areas remaining after today's designations, home to over 90 million people, are required to attain clean air as soon as possible but no later than 2010. EPA may grant attainment date extensions of up to five years in areas with more severe PM2.5 problems and where emissions control measures are not available or feasible.
Background
Fine particle pollution, also called PM2.5, is a mixture of microscopic solids and liquid droplets suspended in air. Fine particles can be emitted directly (such as smoke from a fire) or formed in the atmosphere from power plant, industrial and mobile source emissions of gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. These tiny particles can
aggravate heart and lung diseases and have been associated with very serious health problems including heart attacks, chronic bronchitis and asthma attacks.
Meeting the PM2.5 standards will prevent at least 15,000 premature deaths; 75,000 cases of chronic bronchitis; 10,000 hospital admissions for respiratory and cardiovascular disease; hundreds of thousands of occurrences of aggravated asthma; and 3.1 million days when people miss work because they are suffering from symptoms related to particle pollution exposure. Attaining clean air in these additional areas is a step towards realizing those benefits.
Areas not meeting the national air quality standards are called nonattainment areas. These areas have had (or have contributed to) PM2.5 levels higher than allowed under EPA's national air quality standard. States and tribes with designated nonattainment areas must submit plans that outline how they will meet the PM2.5 standards. States and tribes must submit their plans to EPA within three years (April 5, 2005) after the Agency's final designations become effective.
For more information on fine particle pollution, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/.
For more information on the 2004 Clean Air rules, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/cleanair2004 .
For more information on particulate matter trends, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/airtrends .
For information on ozone designations, visit:
http://www.epa.gov/ozonedesignations
Source: EPA Tuesday, April 5, 2005
EPA ORDERS TOUGH NEW AIR POLLUTION CONTROLS IN 31 STATES
April 15, 2004 -- The Environmental Protection Agency, acting under court order, today ordered new pollution control steps in 31 states because the air in some of their counties does not meet air quality standards. All or part of 474 counties, mostly in the eastern third of the country and in California, home to more than 150 million people, do not meet federal health standards for smog-causing ozone.
Ground-level ozone, a precursor to smog, has been found to be a serious health problems, causing respiratory illnesses. It can be especially damaging to the elderly, children and asthmatics.
State officials have three years to develop plans to come into compliance. Areas in noncompliance are required to impose new controls on industrial plants and restrict highway funds. The rules were delayed for four years but legal challenges forced EPA to comply with the regulations. The Supreme Court upheld the standards in February 2001. EPA Administrator Michael O. Leavitt was under a court-ordered deadline to release the list of non-complying counties.
California has the toughest air pollution requirements, but has the worst air problem. Four regions in California are designated with either "severe" or "serious" air pollution. The Los Angeles basin had the worst smog problem, the only region to be placed in "severe" pollution category. Three other regions of California -- Riverside County, San Joaquin Valley, Sacramento -- were designated as having "serious" pollution and have until 2013 to meet the standards.
EPA has taken actions to reduce pollution from power plants and in companion regulations, has proposed new requirements aimed at curtailing pollution over parks and wilderness areas. The rule, which would affect power plants and industrial facilities, is aimed at reducing haze in 156 parks and wilderness areas in 35 states.
The county designation has been long awaited, ever since the EPA in 1997 issued tougher health standards for ground-level ozone and fine soot. Deadlines for meeting the air quality standards range from 2007 to 2021.
The other counties have from "marginal" to "moderate" dirty air and will have three to six years to come into compliance. Areas that continue to violate the standard could face sanctions including a loss of federal highway funds.
The counties in nonattainment included most of California, a ring of states around the Great Lakes, and a concentration of Northeast states from the Washington, D.C. area to Boston. Also failing the federal test are parts of eastern Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina and the Dallas, Houston and San Antonio areas in Texas.
Some 2,668 counties met the standards. And 19 states had all counties in compliance: Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming.
The Supreme Court upheld the standards in February 2001. Environmental and public health groups such as the American Lung Association and Environmental Defense sued to force government into action.
Important Announcement
