New cities in Alabama identified by EPA as having unhealthy air

ATLANTA – New standards released today by the Environmental Protection Agency show more cities than ever before in Alabama with unhealthy levels of ozone, including Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and Decatur. The new EPA standards go further to protect the public’s health from ozone pollution, but fall short of the recommendations of public health professionals and EPA’s own scientists which recommended stronger protections.

“Unfortunately EPA has chosen to bow to political interests over the public’s health by releasing a ozone standard that falls short of the recommendations of doctors and other public health professionals. The fact that more cities than ever are failing to meet even this standard should serve as a wake up call to all Alabamans that dirty air is everyone’s problem,” said Catherine Wannamaker, attorney with the non profit Southern Environmental Law Center.

Under the new standard, Birmingham is expected to remain in violation of the federal standard, otherwise known as being in “nonattainment.” However, smaller cities including Albertsville, Alexander City, Cullman, Daphne, Decatur, Huntsville, Mobile, Scottsboro, Talladega and Tuscaloosa will also likely be added to the list. These areas will face deadlines to reach the new standard or risk federal sanctions including tighter smokestacks controls and the possible loss of federal highway money.

“What we’re seeing is that unhealthy air is not just an urban problem anymore,” said Wannamaker. “Even small and mid-sized cities are going to have to tackle their air problems in order to protect the health of their citizens.”

Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA must set air quality standards at levels that protect public health, including sensitive populations, with an adequate margin of safety. In 1997, EPA set the national air quality standard for ozone at 0.08 parts per million (ppm) averaged over an eight hour period. The standard announced today is a slightly more stringent 0.075 ppm. However, in 2006, an EPA panel of scientists and public health experts unanimously recommended strengthening the ozone standard even lower, to within the range of 0.060 to 0.070 ppm, to adequately protect public health.

In Alabama, stationary sources like power plants and manufacturing facilities are among the largest sources of ozone pollution. For example, in Birmingham, roughly 50 percent of ozone-forming emissions come from electric utilities, while 12 percent come from other large stationary sources. SELC will be releasing a report in the coming months that details the air pollution problems in Birmingham and makes recommendations for cleaning up Birmingham’s dirty air.”

Lobbyists representing the oil, coal, electric power and manufacturing industries lobbied heavily against improved air pollution standards in the weeks leading up to the decision. However, EPA and OMB studies repeatedly show heath care costs and lost productivity far outweigh costs of clean up.

Ozone pollution, also known as smog, is known to trigger asthma attacks, reduce lung capacity, and has even been linked to heart disease and premature death. At its worst on hot, dry weather, ozone pollution causes officials to warn children and the elderly to stay indoors on many summer days. Children, whose respiratory systems are still developing, risk permanent loss of lung capacity through prolonged exposure to polluted air. For senior citizens, the natural decline in lung function that occurs with age is worsened by air pollution.