Macon, Athens and Augusta Added to List of Georgia Cities With Too Much Ozone

ATLANTA – Under new ozone standards released today by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Athens and Augusta will likely, for the first time, join metro Atlanta as areas with unhealthy levels of ozone and Macon will likely be added back to the list. The new 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 likely to fail to meet even this standard should serve as a wake up call to all Georgians that dirty air is everyone’s problem,” said Brian Gist, an attorney with the nonprofit Southern Environmental Law Center.

If declared as in “nonattainment” of the new standards, Macon, Augusta, Athens and Atlanta will face deadlines to reach the new standard or risk federal sanctions, including tighter smokestacks controls and the possible loss of federal highway money.

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.

“The American Lung Association and 15 other major medical societies and public health organizations have repeatedly urged the EPA to establish air quality standards that protect public health, including the health of people with lung disease, children and seniors. By announcing this lax standard, EPA has failed,” said June Deen of the American Lung Association.

“The EPA is required by law to set the standard at a level that provides an adequate margin of safety for the most sensitive populations, including children,” said Rebecca Watts Hull of Mothers & Others for Clean Air, a program housed at the Georgia Conservancy. “EPA’s own Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee concluded after an extensive review that a safe level lies somewhere between .06 and .07 ppm— .075 still leaves many children vulnerable.”

Yolanda Whyte, MD, Atlanta pediatrician, is concerned. “Ozone is an irritant and an oxidant to the airways. It causes cough, wheeze, shortness of breath and chest pain, an on a cellular level, it oxidizes cell structures. There are clear associations between ozone and lung conditions such as asthma and lung cancer.” For Atlanta mom Amber Welsh the evidence is all too clear. “My son Braeden is an incredibly joyful, energetic two year old boy; and it is amazing to wake each day to see the wonder of the world through his eyes. It is equally awful to see him during an asthma attack where he coughs uncontrollably, wheezes, and struggles to breathe for days at a time. The attacks started shortly after moving to Atlanta, where smog alerts from May to September warn us not to go outside because the air is unsafe to breathe.”

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. After urging from the American Manufacturing Association, the Georgia State Senate introduced SR 1007, a resolution predicting ruin for the state’s economy if smog standards were tightened.

“In America, the wealthiest and most powerful nation on the planet, we can absolutely conduct business without giving our children asthma,” said Jennette Gayer, policy advocate with Environment Georgia. “Today’s announcement from the EPA proves that lobbying dollars take you further in Washington than human lives.”

Ozone pollution, also known as smog, is known to trigger asthma attacks, reduce lung capacity and has been linked to heart disease and premature death. At its worst during 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.