The air in more than 300 U.S. counties is too dirty, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, so
it has decided to lower the allowable amount of smog-forming ozone to 75 parts per billion. That's significantly higher than what the agency's scientific
advisers urged, but lower than what some industries wanted.
The announcement was scheduled to be released at 1 p.m. Wednesday but was delayed until 6 p.m.
But the regs have been posted on government Web pages for anybody who knows how to find them.
So the new rule will be 75 parts per billion. The old rule was 80 to 84 parts per billion.
AP reports:
An estimated 85 counties of the more than 700 that have monitoring
stations exceed the current 80 parts per billion concentration,
according to the latest EPA calculations. More than 320 counties exceed
the tighter 75 parts per billion standard.
Health experts say
smog under the current ozone regulation -- even in areas where the limit
is being met -- causes hundreds of premature deaths among the elderly
and health problems for thousands of young children and people with
asthma and other respiratory illnesses.
An independent EPA
advisory group of scientists last year said an ozone standard of 60 to
70 parts per billion is needed to provide an adequate margin of
protection for the millions of people susceptible to respiratory
problems. A similar conclusion was reached by a second advisory board
on children's health.
Check out this amazing interactive map that allows you to see levels of specific pollutants for your area.
The Washington Post points out:
The new smog rules -- one of the most important environmental
decisions President Bush will make during his final year in office --
will be a major factor in determining the quality of the air Americans
will breathe for at least a decade. The standards dictate the amount of
nitrogen oxides and other chemical compounds that are allowed to come
out of vehicles, manufacturing facilities and power plants across the
nation.
A slew of industries, including electric utilities and cement
manufacturers, had recently urged White House officials in private
meetings to keep the ozone limit at 80 parts per billion in order to
minimize the cost of installing pollution controls.
The National Association of Manufacturers says businesses may have to spend millions to meet the new rules.
What's ozone and why does it matter?Background from EPA:
Ozone
(O
3) is a gas composed of three oxygen atoms.
It is not usually emitted directly into the air, but at ground-level is
created by a chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen (
NOx)
and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Ozone
has the same chemical structure whether it occurs miles above the earth
or at ground-level and can be "good" or "bad," depending on its
location in the atmosphere.
In the earth's lower atmosphere,
ground-level ozone is considered "bad." Motor vehicle exhaust
and industrial emissions, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents as well
as natural sources emit NOx and VOC that
help form ozone. Ground-level ozone is the primary constituent of smog. Sunlight and hot
weather cause ground-level ozone to form
in harmful concentrations in the air. As a result, it is known as a
summertime air pollutant. Many urban areas tend to have high levels
of "bad" ozone,
but even rural areas are also subject to increased ozone levels because
wind carries ozone and pollutants that form it hundreds of miles away
from their original sources.
"Good" ozone occurs
naturally in the stratosphere approximately 10 to 30 miles above the
earth's surface and forms a layer that protects life on earth from the
sun's harmful rays.
Learn more about how ozone can be beneficial up high in the stratosphere but harmful at ground level.
EPA has many more resources here, including information on the effects of ground-level ozone, government standards, performance of local communities in meeting those standards and much more.
