Air on Side of Caution? EPA Eyes New Standard

The Environmental Protection Agency could announce plans as early as Monday to significantly strengthen the federal ozone pollution standard, a move that could save lives but would create hardships for businesses and motorists.

For example, in the nine-county Dallas-Fort Worth area — which already fails to meet the existing ozone standard — dramatic new steps may be needed to lower pollution, such as restricting the number of days people could drive their cars, limiting when construction equipment could be operated and possibly shutting down drive-through windows during peak ozone season, state and regional leaders said.

"It’s going to be really painful for people because I don’t think we would be able to continue to drive as we do today," said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck.

An independent panel of scientists appointed by the EPA has already recommended that the agency adopt a much stricter ozone standard, arguing that new research indicates that the existing health-based threshold doesn’t protect those most sensitive to air pollution: children, older adults, people who work outdoors and people with respiratory problems.

Raising the ozone standard would slash the number of asthma attacks on high-ozone days and substantially reduce the risk of long-term health problems created by air pollution, including permanent lung damage and even premature death, public health officials say.

Even if dramatic steps are taken, however, it might not be enough to meet a significantly higher standard, said Mike Eastland, executive director of the North Central Texas Council of Governments.

"That’s not us trying to get out of what we might need to do; it just gets down to the fact there’s not much more we can squeeze out of the thing," he said. "It would be very, very tough."

Out of compliance

The EPA is reviewing the ozone standard after the American Lung Association and other groups threatened to sue the agency, saying new research indicates that existing regulations no longer protect the public. EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson agreed to issue a decision on whether to raise the standard by Wednesday.

Any change would not go into effect before March, after months of public comment and debate.

The existing standard mandates that ozone levels not exceed an average of 85 parts per billion in any eight-hour period. An area violates the standard if any ozone monitor measures average levels higher than that on four or more days during a calendar year.

The EPA science advisory panel recommended last year that the acceptable threshold be lowered to 70 parts per billion.

Last year, air monitors in Dallas-Fort Worth measured ozone concentrations of 70 parts per billion or greater 642 times over 73 days, a review of state ozone data shows. The 85 ppb standard was exceeded 134 times over 31 days.

"There are many areas around the country that could not meet this standard," said Jeff Holmstead, the former head of the EPA’s air program who now directs the environmental group at Bracewell & Giuliani, a Houston law firm that lobbies on behalf of power plants and other industries.

"You’re going to have a whole lot of people spending a lot of money endlessly chasing their tail to meet a standard they can never meet," he said.

Saving lives

Public health and clean-air advocates say the health benefits are worth the price.

"We have good evidence in real-world settings that when we lower the amount of ozone in the community, we can protect the health and lives of literally millions of people in this country," said Janice Nolen, the American Lung Association’s assistant vice president for national policy and advocacy in Washington, D.C.

That’s why she’s not sensitive to complaints about difficulties in meeting tougher standards.

"The choice between sending a kid to the hospital and having to rethink your commute, it seems like a logical choice to be supportive of protecting the kid and keeping him or her from going to the hospital," she said.

Economic costs

The state’s top environmental regulator doesn’t see it that way.

Kathleen Hartnett White, chairwoman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, wrote the EPA in April to oppose lowering the ozone standard. In a two-page letter sent to Johnson and copied to the state’s congressional delegation, she questioned "whether the benefit of lowering the standard has been completely examined" by the agency. She wrote that the EPA’s studies on the issue have not been "rigorous enough to be the primary basis of the proposed new ozone standard."

She also urged the agency to consider the economic effects involved.

"If the standard is lowered, I expect a significant negative consequence to the economy of our state," she wrote.

Her letter drew an angry response from officials at the American Lung Association and Environmental Defense.

"The current air quality standards for ozone fail to protect public health," they wrote in a May 7 letter to White. "This conclusion is scientifically established and unequivocal."

Ground-level ozone

The federal government regulates ozone levels as a health concern.

At high concentrations, ozone can trigger asthma attacks, stunt lung development in children and aggravate bronchitis, emphysema and other respiratory problems.

Ozone, the main ingredient in smog, needs lots of sunlight and heat to form. For that reason, ozone season in Dallas-Fort Worth runs from May through October.

Ozone is produced when nitrogen oxides mix with volatile organic compounds. Those come mostly from automobile exhaust and industry smokestacks. Trees also produce the organic compounds as part of photosynthesis.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency

Ozone review

The federal Environmental Protection Agency is under a federal court mandate to review the ozone standard to ensure it adequately protects public health and the environment.

The American Lung Association and other groups threatened to sue the EPA in 2003, saying the ozone standard set in 1997 is no longer sufficient to protect those most vulnerable to ozone pollution: children, older adults, people with respiratory ailments and people who work outside.

To resolve that case, the EPA agreed to review the standard in light of new research that indicates that ozone concentrations can be well below the health-based standard and still trigger asthma attacks and inflame the conditions of those suffering from a host of other respiratory ailments.

What’s next

The court gave the EPA until Wednesday to announce a decision.

Source: Environmental Protection Agency