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CLEARING THE AIR

Release Date: 08/13/1998
Contact Information: Leo Kay, Press Office, (617) 918-4154

By John P. DeVillars, Administrator, EPA-New England
Since the Clean Air Act was passed nearly three decades ago, New England has made enormous progress making the air cleaner and healthier to breathe. Through a variety of efforts, we've slashed the number of unhealthy air days in New England from 55 days in 1980 to just 13 days last year. We've made this progress during a time when the nation's Gross National Product has more than doubled -- showing that environmental protection and economic prosperity can and do co-exist.

This summer, however, has not been a great one for air quality. Less than halfway through the summer, we had already recorded 20 days when smog had made the air unhealthy under our newer, tougher standards. And the ozone exceedances are occurring around many different areas of New England, including the urban corridor of Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts and such rural locations as Keene, N.H. and Acadia National Park in Maine. The recent spate of unhealthy ozone days is a stark reminder that New England's air quality continues to be compromised - and that more work needs to be done to reduce ground-level ozone, or smog.

The exceedances are occurring even as we learn more about the dangers of smog and are putting in place more-protective air quality standards. Following a lengthy scientific review, the EPA concluded last year that ground-level ozone and small particles in the air are harmful to human health at levels, that under previous air quality standards, were considered acceptable. Ground-level ozone is formed when volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen interact in the presence of sunlight. Sources which contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone include: automobiles, trucks and buses; large industry and combustion sources such as electric utilities; small industry such as gasoline dispensing facilities and print shops; consumer products such as paints and cleaners; and off-road engines such as aircraft, locomotives, construction equipment and lawn and garden equipment.

In the case of ground-level ozone, longer-term exposure at levels that met the previous standard were found to cause significant health effects, including asthma attacks, breathing and respiratory problems, loss of lung function and possible long-term lung damage. Given those findings, the EPA changed the ozone standard from a 1 hour, .12 parts per million standard to an 8-hour, .08 parts per million standard. The EPA also added daily and annual standards for small particles in the air of 2.5 microns in diameter or less. The old standard for small particles, smaller than 10 microns, is still in effect.

Together, the newly-updated air standards will prevent about 15,000 premature deaths, about 350,000 cases of aggravated asthma and nearly a million cases of significantly decreased lung function in children. The challenge now is to find ways to ensure that these public health protections will be achieved cost-effectively - providing both clean air and continued economic growth. The EPA and the New England states have a number of major initiatives underway to achieve that goal.

Last November, the EPA and 37 states east of the Mississippi River unveiled a plan to reduce the significant amount of Atransported@ air pollution that blows into the Northeastern states from the Midwest and Southern states. The state implementation plans, or "SIPs," propose that 22 states in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast reduce nitrogen oxide (a contributor to ozone pollution) emissions by 35 percent, beginning in 2002. The cuts would come primarily from major power plants, which offer the most cost-effective opportunities for reducing pollution.

Basically, the proposed ozone transport SIP call consists of statewide NOx emission budgets that the states will be required to meet as early as 2003. The emission budget for each state was calculated by projecting the statewide NOx emissions stationary, area, and mobile sources reduced by known forms of emission controls. The proposals include analyses of the costs of several types of stationary source NOx controls, such as selective catalytic reduction, selective non-catalytic reduction, and gas-reburn, as well as combinations of such technologies. Both catalytic and non-catalytic reduction involve using urea or ammonia to separate the nitrogen in NOx from the oxygen. Gas-reburn involves introducing a fuel-rich combustion zone, generally using natural gas, downstream from the primary combustion zone. The EPA's analyses predicts that NOx emissions from large stationary sources, such as power plants, can be reduced by at least 85 percent at an average cost per ton reduced annually of less than $2,000 per ton of NOx. The significance of such a reduction in the Midwest -- where coal produces a vast majority of the area's electricity - will translate into cleaner air in the Northeast without having to place an undue burden on electricity ratepayers in the nation's mid-section.

The proposed SIP call includes analyses of computer modeling that forecasts how the proposed NOx budgets will improve air quality. In order to ensure that the reductions will continue to occur, the proposed call articulates the frequency and methods that states would use to report their annual statewide NOx emissions. Additionally, the proposal includes criteria that the EPA would use to evaluate each state's NOx reduction program. The proposed SIP call also includes a model cap-and-trade regulation that affected states could use to cost effectively reduce NOx emissions from certain types of stationary sources. Modeled after the EPA's sulfur dioxide trading program, in the NOx cap and trade program the EPA would be responsible for the emissions tracking and allowance tracking data systems. Although the model rule is presented as a cost-effective option for states to reduce their NOx, the proposed SIP call does not mandate which sources must reduce air pollution or which kinds of emission control systems should be used. The EPA intends to finalize the ozone transport SIP call this month.

In addition to lessening the amount of pollution that drifts to New England from the west, there are a number of measures that we can take here in New England to clean up our air. Continued reductions in motor vehicle emissions, pollution prevention at industrial facilities, controls on utility and industrial boilers, and even personal conservation practices are all needed to meet the new standards.

Cutbacks in motor vehicle emissions are being achieved primarily through fleet turnover and enhanced automobile Inspection and Maintenance (I&M) programs. Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire recently joined the growing number of states in the Northeast that have legislative authorization to implement enhanced I&M programs for curbing emissions from vehicles. The Massachusetts' I&M program alone, which will be implemented next spring, will reduce smog-causing pollution by up to 80 tons a day.

In another move to curb motor vehicle emissions, the nation's Big Three automakers and 10 foreign automakers will soon be selling cars that are 70 percent cleaner than federal law requires. Among the states where the "clean" vehicles will be available later this year are Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The program will be offered nationally in 2001.

While all of these programs will improve air quality, New Englanders need to be mindful that ground-level ozone continues to be a problem, especially in the summer, and that strenuous outdoor activities should be avoided when unhealthy air quality is predicted. Children and people with respiratory disease are especially vulnerable to adverse health effects when ozone levels are high.

We can all do our part to prevent bad air quality, whether we're at work, home, or on the road when temperatures rise:

• Since exhaust from automobiles is a major contributor to ground-level ozone, use public transportation, bike or walk where possible;
• When it's imperative to drive, car pool and plan trips carefully to avoid excess driving;
• Refuel your vehicle at night to reduce the escape of gasoline vapors during the hottest times of the day;
• Keep your vehicle well maintained;
• Fossil-fuel fired electricity generation stations emit large quantities of air pollutants which form smog. Using less electricity helps reduce smog.
• Avoiding the use of gasoline powered engines, such as lawn mowers, chain saws, leaf blowers on predicted unhealthy air days.

It's everyone's responsibility to protect the air we breathe - from power plants to the automotive industry to private citizens. Together, we can attack the problem from all sources to provide cleaner, healthier air quality for New Englanders well into the future. For more information on EPA-New England's efforts to improve air quality, contact Dave Conroy at (617)918-1661.