County Meets Proposed Air Quality Rules
By Tony Davis, ARIZONA DAILY STAR
Proposed federal regulations to tighten air quality standards for dust and other particulate matter would leave Pima County in compliance with the rules, as it has been for decades.
But if the Environmental Protection Agency eventually toughens the standards because of public comments and lawsuits, a chance exists that this county’s air could violate the standards for the first time ever, county environmental quality officials say.
Ultimately, such failure could force local government to impose stricter measures over 10 to 15 years to control particulate pollution from construction sites, dirt roads, vehicles, fireplaces and other sources, county officials say.
The EPA proposed the new rules last Tuesday in hopes of modestly reducing sooty pollution from the particulates that can cause a wide range of lung and other respiratory diseases. The particles pose especially serious risks to children with asthma and frail older people.
But in proposing the first change in these standards since 1997, the EPA largely ignored recommendations for tighter controls from its own scientists and from an independent panel of outside experts, The New York Times reported last week.
Both groups generally favored standards that could better prevent human health problems from particulates.
The EPA is seeking public comment on a range of possible standards, however, and the strictest limits in that group could put Pima County out of compliance.
Ursula Kramer, Pima County’s environmental health director, said she has no preference between Bush administration proposals and the tighter standards favored by the EPA and outside scientists. The county department plans to comment on the standards.
But Kramer said she won’t take a stand on whether they should be toughened without first consulting with an outside group with more background in public health, such as a physicians group or an environmental group such as the American Lung Association.
Instead, she wants to get clear information about whether mining or other dust-producing activity in areas such as Green Valley and Ajo will be exempt from the standards if Pima County complies with them – which isn’t the case today.
Her staff is well-versed in technical pollution issues but not health issues, Kramer said last Friday. The biggest issue is not whether the county meets new standards – it’s that the standards adequately protect public health, she said.
Stephen L. Johnson, the EPA’s chief administrator, said last week that the proposed standards reflect “the best available science.”
The American Lung Association said the standards “just fell short of protecting the public’s health,” said Bill Pfeifer, president and CEO of the association’s Arizona chapter. “I think the thing people need to recognize is, this isn’t about whether the county can meet a standard.”
The EPA is slated to adopt final rules by next September. Any counties not in compliance must submit remediation plans. Legal challenges are virtually certain, given objections to the proposed standards from national health and environmental groups.
If Pima County does have to tighten its restrictions, it will consider stricter local standards for contractors, dirt roads, sand and gravel operations, and other possible polluters, Kramer said.
Any changes are a decade or more away. The county wouldn’t have to comply with the federal standards until 2020.
If the rules did get tougher, contractors would probably start spraying additional water on top of what they already spray to hold down dust, said Sharon Powers, a former state occupational safety compliance officer. She works with and belongs to building trade industry groups including the Arizona Builders Alliance and the Southern Arizona Home Builders Association.
“That’s a Catch-22. We would be using more water when we are short of water,” Powers said. “I see those sites every week. I know that most of them are trying. Some of them get a little lax.”
Fine particles’ effects on health
Health effects associated with short- and long-term exposure to high levels of fine particles:
* Premature death in people with heart and lung disease.
* Nonfatal heart attacks.
* Increased hospital admissions, emergency-room visits and doctor visits for respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
* Increased coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.
* Lung function changes, especially in children and people with lung diseases such as asthma.
* Changes in heart-rate variability.
* Arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat).
* Changes in subtle indicators of cardiovascular health.
* Premature death from heart and lung diseases.
* Chronic respiratory disease in children.
Health effects from short-term exposure to coarse particles:
* Increased hospital admissions for respiratory symptoms.
* Decreased lung function.
* Hospital admissions for heart disease.
* Possibly premature death.
To contact the EPA about the standards:
* E-mail: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov
* Fax: 1-202-566-1741
* Mail: Send comments to Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center, Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20460.
Source: Environmental Protection Agency
* The New York Times contributed to this story. Contact reporter Tony Davis at 806-7746 or tdavis@azstarnet.com