Michigan Baking
in Ozone Air Pollution
Health and Air Quality Experts Call on Bush to Scrap Plans
to Rollback Protections
|
For
Immediate Release:
June 26, 2003
|
Contacts:
Vicki
Levengood, NET: 517-333-5786
Megan Owens, PIRGIM: 734-730-5725
David Gard, MEC: 517-487-9539
|
Lansing, MI— For the second day in a row, residents in
many Michigan communities have experienced the worst air quality
in 5 years, caused in large part by pollution from old, dirty
“grandfathered” power plants. Ozone smog season
has arrived in Michigan, just as the Bush Administration is
pushing Congress to pass a bill that would double the amount
of smog and soot pollution that can be emitted over the next
decade. A vote on the Bush air pollution bill could come in
the next few weeks.
In addition,
the Bush administration’s Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) just published a set of “options” for implementing
rules mandating air quality improvements. According to public
health and air quality experts, the EPA proposal would substantially
weaken clean air protections already in place. If these options
are implemented, communities where the air is dirty now are
likely to get worse.
“The
timing of this Bush administration attack on clean air rules
couldn’t be more ironic,” said Vicki Levengood,
Michigan Representative, National Environmental Trust. “Just
as we face the worst air quality Michigan has seen in years,
the administration is doing everything in their power to weaken
protections already in place, and leave us with the guarantee
of even dirtier air to come.”
Some specific
air pollution figures for Michigan cities:
On Wednesday
(6-25-03) all Michigan air quality monitors except one had
ozone pollution levels over the EPA health standard of 85
ppb average over an 8 hour day.
Highest
smog levels in 5 years (8 hour average):
-- Tecumseh:
111 ppb - far higher than ever before (2nd highest was Tues.
at 100 ppb)
-- Port Huron: 123 ppb - highest in the state in past 5 years
-- New Haven: 119 ppb (2nd highest Tues. at 110 ppb)
-- Warren: 116 (2nd highest Tues. at 105 ppb)
-- Oak Park: 106 ppb
-- 7 Mile: 103 - (tied for highest w/ Tues.)
Among
the worst 5 in the past 5 years:
-- Muskegon – 108 ppb
-- Coloma - 101 ppb
-- Kalamazoo - 92 ppb
“These
numbers have real meaning for people living in these areas,”
said Dr. Michael Harbut, MD, MPH, FCCP. “We know that
when air pollution increases, not only do hospital admissions
rise for asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, pulmonary
fibrosis and other lung conditions, they also rise for heart
disease, and the number of people who die from these diseases
also increases.” Dr. Harbut heads the Center for Occupational
and Environmental Medicine in Royal Oak, and is past chair
of the Occupational and Environmental Health section of the
American College of Chest Physicians.
“There’s
something terribly wrong when a trip to the park on a sunny
summer afternoon -- especially for children with asthma --
poses a significant health risk,” said Megan Owens, Field
Director for Public Interest Research Group in Michigan (PIRGIM).
“This is no time to weaken the rules that protect us
from even higher levels of smog pollution.”
Ozone
is a gas formed when air pollution reacts chemically in the
presence of sunlight. When near ground level, ozone can cause
serious health problems including reduced lung function, aggravated
asthma and permanent lung damage. Recent scientific studies
show that air pollution such as ozone may cause an increase
in heart attacks, strokes and SIDS. Children who participate
in outdoor activities, adults who engage in strenuous outdoor
exercise, the elderly, and those with asthma or other respiratory
diseases are especially at risk from ozone exposure.
According
to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Wednesday’s
ozone concentrations exceeded the 85 ppb health threshold
for 23 out 24 MDEQ monitors. Nine monitors crossed the more
severe 105 ppb ‘Unhealthy’ threshold, and three
MDEQ monitors even exceeded the old 1-hour standard of 125
ppb.
“We’re
only a few days in to the official summer season, and already
we’ve seen the worst air quality in years,” said
David Gard, Energy Policy Specialist for the Michigan Environmental
Council. “This a dangerous start to what could be a long
summer of unhealthy air. We need to enforce existing clean
air standards, not roll them back.”
For more
information:
http://www.deq.state.mi.us/aqi/ozone.shtml
- Michigan Dept of Environmental Quality's Air Quality Monitoring
System - Ozone Action!
http://www.epa.gov/airnow/index.html
- EPA's AIRNow program for air pollution monitoring
