Danger in the Air: Unhealthy Levels of Air Pollution in 2003
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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