ATLANTA – Under new ozone standards released today by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Athens
and Augusta will likely, for the first time,
join metro Atlanta as areas with unhealthy
levels of ozone and Macon
will likely be added back to the list. The new standards go further to protect
the public’s health from ozone pollution, but fall short of the recommendations
of public health professionals and EPA’s own scientists which recommended
stronger protections.
“In America,
the wealthiest and most powerful nation on the planet, we can absolutely
conduct business without giving our children asthma,” said Jennette Gayer, policy
advocate with Environment Georgia. “Today’s announcement from the EPA proves
that lobbying dollars take you further in Washington than human lives.”
If declared as in “nonattainment” of the new standards, Macon,
Augusta, Athens and Atlanta will face deadlines to reach the new standard or risk federal sanctions,
including tighter smokestacks controls and the possible loss of federal highway
money.
Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA must set air quality standards at
levels that protect public health, including sensitive populations, with an
adequate margin of safety. In 1997, EPA set the national air quality standard
for ozone at 0.08 parts per million (ppm) averaged over an eight hour period.
The standard announced today is a slightly more stringent 0.075 ppm. However, in 2006, an EPA panel of scientists and public
health experts unanimously recommended strengthening the ozone standard even
lower, to within the range of 0.060 to 0.070 ppm, to adequately protect public
health.
“The American
Lung Association and 15 other major medical societies and public health
organizations have repeatedly urged the EPA to establish air quality standards
that protect public health, including the health of people with lung disease,
children and seniors. By announcing this lax standard, EPA has failed,” said
June Deen of the American Lung Association.
“The EPA is required by law to set the standard at a level that provides
an adequate margin of safety for the most sensitive populations, including
children,” said Rebecca Watts Hull of Mothers & Others for Clean Air, a
program housed at the Georgia Conservancy. “EPA’s own Clean Air Scientific
Advisory Committee concluded after an extensive review that a safe level lies
somewhere between .06 and .07 ppm— .075 still leaves many children vulnerable.”
Yolanda Whyte, MD, Atlanta
pediatrician, is concerned. “Ozone is an irritant and an oxidant to the
airways. It causes cough, wheeze, shortness of breath and chest pain, an
on a cellular level, it oxidizes cell structures. There are clear
associations between ozone and lung conditions such as asthma and lung
cancer.” For Atlanta
mom Amber Welsh the evidence is all too clear. “My son Braeden is an
incredibly joyful, energetic two year old boy; and it is amazing to wake each
day to see the wonder of the world through his eyes. It is equally awful
to see him during an asthma attack where he coughs uncontrollably, wheezes, and
struggles to breathe for days at a time. The attacks started shortly
after moving to Atlanta,
where smog alerts from May to September warn us not to go outside because the
air is unsafe to breathe.”
Lobbyists representing the oil, coal, electric power and manufacturing
industries lobbied heavily against improved air pollution standards in the
weeks leading up to the decision. After urging from the American Manufacturing
Association, the Georgia State Senate introduced SR 1007, a resolution
predicting ruin for the state’s economy if smog standards were tightened.
Ozone pollution, also known as
smog, is known to trigger asthma attacks, reduce lung capacity and has been
linked to heart disease and premature death. At its worst during hot, dry
weather, ozone pollution causes officials to warn children and the elderly to
stay indoors on many summer days. Children, whose respiratory systems are still
developing, risk permanent loss of lung capacity through prolonged exposure to
polluted air. For senior citizens, the natural decline in lung function that
occurs with age is worsened by air pollution.
