Health Seems Lost on Regional Air Quality Council

Ozone pollution was the focus of the most recent Regional Air Quality Council meeting last Thursday. Unfortunately, discussions did not focus on ways to better protect the health of children and communities from ozone pollution in the Denver area.

This summer's ozone levels, which are measured as 8-hour averages, exceeded the federal health standard of 80 parts per billion over 50 times. Although technically a violation of the federal standard did not occur, this doesn't mean our air was not unhealthy. The Environmental Protection Agency has concluded that any time 8-hour ozone concentrations exceed 80 parts per billion, our health is at risk.

For a violation of the federal ozone standard to occur, the three year average of the fourth highest 8-hour ozone values has to exceed 85 parts per billion (85 because of an outdated rounding scheme). In other words, a violation of the federal ozone standard occurs only when we have suffered three years in a row of excessive pollution. At that point, federal clean air regulations kick in to protect our health.

From a health standpoint, it's not important whether or not a violation of the federal ozone standard occurs. This fact seems lost on the Regional Air Quality Council, a politically appointed planning agency. At the Thursday meeting and even in a recent press release, the health effects of this summer's dangerously high ozone were not even mentioned. The focus instead was on whether the Denver area violated the federal ozone standard and whether federal clean air regulations could be avoided.

Clean air should not be about whether federal pollution standards are or are not met. The health science says that 8-hour ozone levels at 80 parts per billion or higher are a health threat. In light of this, we need to do everything we can to keep ozone levels below this unhealthy threshold, whether or not we're in violation of the federal standard. The Regional Air Quality Council would do better to keep this in mind as it weighs options for further reducing ozone pollution in Denver.