Clean Air News

 

SAN BERNARDINO—San Bernardino ranked 1st  nationwide for the worst fine particle, or “soot,” pollution among large metro areas in 2004, according to a new report released today by Environment California, a statewide environmental advocacy group.

“San Bernardino has some of the worst soot pollution in the nation, and our kids and senior citizens suffer asthma attacks and other serious health problems as a result,” said Environment California Field Organizer Moira Chapin.

Power plants and diesel engines are the largest sources of fine particle pollution.  The power plants in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metropolitan area, including the Coolwater Generating Station, release high levels of this pollution.

Because of their small size, fine particles can bypass the body’s natural defenses, such as coughing and sneezing, and lodge deep in the lungs or even pass into the bloodstream, causing serious respiratory and cardiovascular problems, such as asthma attacks, heart attacks, and lung cancer.  Fine particle pollution cuts short the lives of tens of thousands of Americans each year, according to EPA.

The new report, called Plagued by Pollution, is based on an Environment California survey of the environmental agencies in all 50 states and DC.  The report looks at all of the instances in 2004 when pollution levels exceeded EPA’s two health-based air quality standards for fine particle pollution.  EPA’s “annual” standard is based on how much fine particle pollution is safe to breathe on an everyday basis, while EPA’s “24-hour” standard is based on how much fine particle pollution is safe to breathe on any given day.  Both types of exposures are associated with illness and death.

Key findings include the following:

• San Bernardino ranks 1st nationwide for the worst chronic fine particle pollution among large metro areas in 2004.  Fine particle pollution was high year-round in San Bernardino and exceeded EPA’s standard for what is safe to breathe over the long-term (the annual standard).

• San Bernardino ranks 2nd (after Pittsburg) nationwide for the most dangerous spikes in fine particle pollution among large metro areas in 2004. 

• California suffered 16 soot days in 2004, when levels of fine particle pollution spiked above EPA’s standard for what is safe to breathe on any given day (the 24-hour standard).

“Our recommendation would be to ‘connect the dots’—EPA should set the federal standards at levels which adequately protect the public’s health, especially for those sensitive populations most at risk,” said Patrick Kudell, Executive Director of the American Lung Association of the Inland Counties.

“While responsible leaders work to reduce the sources of particle pollution (diesel engines, power plants, agriculture, and construction, among others), government must demonstrate its commitment to the public health of its citizens by setting realistic air quality compliance standards for fine particle pollution,” continued Kudell.

In 2005, the Bush administration’s science advisors and EPA staff scientists concluded that the current health standards for fine particle pollution are too weak to fully protect the public.  They recommended that the administration make the standards more protective, which would require power plants and other polluters to clean up. 

In December 2005, the Bush administration rejected these recommendations and proposed just a very minor change to the health standards.  It is unprecedented for an administration to disregard the recommendations of the independent Clean Air Science Advisory Committee.

“This may be the most important decision that the Bush administration makes on air pollution, but the White House has chosen to disregard its own science advisors under pressure from the electric power industry and other special interests,” said Chapin.  “Once again, the Bush administration is favoring polluters over public health, putting politics above science and the law.”

Air quality standards are the foundation for all of the nation’s work to improve air quality.  Under the Clean Air Act, the administration must set air quality standards at levels that protect public health, review these standards every five years, and update them as needed.

EPA’s own risk assessment shows that the current annual fine particle standard of 15 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3) and 24-hour standard of 65 µg/m3 protect only 56 million people.  The administration’s proposal would maintain the annual standard at 15 µg/m3 and only slightly lower the daily standard to 35 µg/m3. 

“It’s not too late for the Bush administration to change course to fight this proven killer,” concluded Chapin.