Clean Air and Water Reports
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Executive Summary
While air quality has improved in the last three decades, half of
all Americans live in counties where air pollution exceeds national
health standards.* Most of these places suffer from high levels of
ozone and/or particle pollution. Ozone is the country's most pervasive
air pollutant; particle pollution is the nation's deadliest air
pollutant. Coal-fired power plants and motor vehicles are the largest
sources of these pollutants. This report, which is based on a
comprehensive survey of environmental agencies from all 50 states and
the District of Columbia, examines levels of ozone and fine particle
pollution in cities and towns across the country in 2003 and finds that
air pollution continues to pose a grave health threat to Americans.
Ground-level
ozone, the primary component of smog, is a severe respiratory irritant
that can aggravate asthma and cause other respiratory problems,
including permanent lung damage. Fine particle pollution, or "soot,"
can bypass the body's defenses and cause serious respiratory and
cardiovascular problems, including heart attacks, lung cancer, and
premature deaths.
"Danger in the Air: Unhealthy Levels of Air
Pollution in 2003" is a compilation of 2003 data from the nation's
network of ozone and fine particle air quality monitors, based on our
comprehensive survey of state environmental agencies. Key findings
include the following: - Ozone levels in 40 states and the
District of Columbia exceeded the 8-hour national health standard 4,583
times and the 1-hour health standard 684 times on 187 days in 2003. The
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California metropolitan area was the
most ozone-polluted large city; Bakersfield, California was the most
ozone-polluted mid-sized city; and Merced, California was the most
ozone polluted small city.
- Fine particle pollution exceeded the
year-round national health standard in 20 states in 2003. Among large
cities, the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, California metropolitan
area was most polluted by year-round particle pollution; Dayton, Ohio
was most polluted by year-round particle pollution among mid-sized
cities; and the Weirton-Steubenville, West Virginia-Ohio metropolitan
area was most polluted by year-round particle pollution among small
cities.
- Fine particle pollution exceeded the 24-hour national
health standard 106 times on 39 days in 13 states in 2003. Of large
cities, the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario Metropolitan area was most
polluted by spikes in particle pollution; of mid-sized cities, El Paso,
Texas was most polluted by spikes in particle pollution; and of small
cities, Missoula, Montana was most polluted by spikes in particle
pollution.
This report also includes preliminary ozone data
for 19 states and the District of Columbia for 2004, which, like 2003,
has been a relatively mild and wet summer. Yet, through the beginning
of September 2004, ozone levels have exceeded the 8-hour health
standard 602 times and the 1-hour standard 84 times in these areas.
Until
policymakers require tough cleanup standards for power plant
smokestacks, Americans will continue to suffer serious health problems
from ozone and fine particle pollution. Instead of taking action to
solve this problem, the Bush administration is helping powerful energy
companies rewrite the rules, weakening existing protections and making
Americans even more vulnerable to the health effects of harmful
pollutants.
Given the extent of our air pollution problem, we
need much stronger, not weaker, clean air protections. The Bush
administration should:
- Substantially strengthen, accelerate,
and finalize its proposal to cap smog- and soot-forming pollutants from
power plants in the eastern U.S. to adequately protect public health
and comply with the law.
- Designate all areas where people
breathe unhealthy levels of fine particles as nonattainment areas and
propose and finalize a strong rule to bring these areas into compliance
with the health standards by the end of this decade, as required by the
Clean Air Act.
State environmental agencies and other policymakers should:
- Continue
to reject the Bush administration's "Clear Skies" plan, which would
replace the Clean Air Act's power plant cleanup programs with far
weaker programs.
- Adopt a comprehensive program to reduce
emissions of smog- and soot-forming pollutants, as well as carbon
dioxide and mercury, from power plants.
- Ensure that states continue to have the authority to set clean air standards that are more protective than federal standards.
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