We Can All Agree: Smog Standards Need Strengthened

Last October, clean air scientists issued a scathing criticism of a draft Environmental Protection Agency recommendation to keep federal health standards for smog, also known as ozone, unchanged.

Yesterday, staff of the Environmental Protection Agency issued their final recommendation and, heeding the advice of clean air scientists, recommended strengthening smog standards.

Current smog standards, which were set in 1997, limit 8-hour concentrations of ozone to no more than 80 parts per billion. However, for an actual "violation" of that standard to occur, the three year average of the fourth highest maximum ozone concentration cannot exceed 84 parts per billion. This disconnect highlights a fundamental flaw with the current standard: that it fails to protect human health.

What's more, studies since 1997 have found that even at levels below 80 parts per billion, ozone still harms children, those with asthma, and seniors. These impacts are so conclusive, that the state of California adopted a standard limiting ozone to no more than 70 parts per billion.

Scientists last October recommending strengthening smog standards to as low as 60 parts per billion and the latest recommendation from the Environmental Protection Agency agrees with the scientists.

Smog levels in Denver regulary climb above 70 parts per billion in the summer, a sure sign that all is not well with our air. Fortunately, all signs indicate that our air is on track to get cleaner here in Denver.

Children's Lungs at-Risk Near Busy Streets

A new study released this week shows that children living in close proximity to busy streets and highways have poorer lung function and are more likely to develop respiratory illnesses as they grow up.

The study shows that the effects of traffic exhaust to children can last a lifetime. It's the latest in a trend of studies that, not surprisingly, that air pollution poses even greater threats to the health of our children than we ever thought. For many of us, this is just a confirmation that, yes, the nasty smells coming from tailpipes are not just unhealthy, but killing us.

Traffic exhaust is a toxic stew of pollutants. Fine soot particles, small enough to get into the bottoms of our lungs, are spewed by diesel engines. Other toxic chemicals released by tailpipes include nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, benzene, and formaldehyde.

Many of these tailpipe pollutants also react with sunlight to form ozone, or smog, the most widespread threat to peoples' health in the Denver metro area.

This latest study should be a call to action for all of us who want our children to have a healthy future. Clearly we need stronger clean air safeguards. But more importantly, we need to park our vehicles. Public transit, bicycles, even walking-these options are safer, healthier, and more enjoyable.

Above all, however, industry needs to be held accountable. This mess we're in was caused by the automobile industry, the oil industry, and others. Check out Terry Tamminen's plan to hold these industries accountable to clean air and our health. We need accountability today so our children have a a future tomorrow.

Asthma Capital

No, it's not Denver. That distinction goes to Aatlanta, Georgia according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America.

The reason? Serious air pollution and a high asthma death rate. Atlanta, in fact, has some of the worst ozone pollution in the southern United States and has so far failed to clean up smog levels.

Thankfully Denver isn't among the top 10 most challenging places to live with asthma. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of American actually ranked Denver the 78th most challenging place to live with asthma. 78th may seem to be far down the list, but it shouldn't be on the list in the first place.

We still have progress to make toward cleaning up Denver's smog, but let's all make it a goal to never, ever let our air quality get as bad as Atlanta. Deal?

Lawsuit Aims to Secure Clean Air Safety Net for Denver

With smog continuing to plague the eight-county Denver metro region, Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action filed suit yesterday against the Environmental Protection Agenc (EPA) to secure additional clean air protections and give a boost to community health. The Rocky Mountain News today reports on this effort.

The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., aims to secure additional safegaurds to protect Denver metro communities from smog. Between 2001 and 2003, Denver violated health standards for ozone. The lawsuit challenges the EPA’s failure to declare the region to be in violation of federal health standards for ozone, or to be in “nonattainment.”

A nonattainment designation kicks in strict safeguards to prevent sliding back into violation, providing a safety net for clean air. Unfortunately, since 2004, the EPA has deferred designating the Denver metro region as nonattainment.

Instead, the EPA allowed the state of Colorado to adopt an Early Action Compact, where the state promised to prevent future violations of ozone standards in exchange for avoiding strict federal regulations. Despite the promises of the Early Action Compact, ozone climbed to unhealthy levels throughout the Denver metro region in 2006.

The lawsuit seeks to complement, not replace, smog reductions rules recently adopted by the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission. The rules, which require a 75% reduction in smog forming pollution from booming oil and gas developments north of Denver, were adopted despite industry objections last December.

If the Denver metro area was designated as nonattainment, additional clean air protections would have to be adopted by the state of Colorado, including:

• A contingency plan that kicks in if ozone standards are not met within a certain time frame.

• Stronger pollution permits for new and modified major sources of air pollution. These permits would require lowest achievable emission rates, essentially the strongest pollution limits.

• All reasonably available ozone control measures would be required for all sources of ozone forming pollution.

• More stringent transportation planning, including more rigorous analysis that must be completed to ensure transportation projects do not cause or contribute to ozone standard violations.

A nonattainment designation would continue to require pollution controls for oil and gas developments, but would likely also require additional controls on coal and natural gas burning power plants, oil refineries, and factories that use solvents.