Report: B'more's air smoggiest in East
Baltmore's air may be less polluted than it used to be years ago, but it still ranks as the smoggiest in the East, according to a report today by Environment Maryland.
The five worst metro areas in the country for ozone pollution in 2010 all were in California, the environmental group reports. Baltimore came in sixth, topping Washington, Philadelphia, Houston and Atlanta. While air readings for this year are incomplete and preliminary, the greater Baltimore-Washington area came in fourth behind Los Angeles, Atlanta and Fresno, California.
There have been 19 Code Orange days in the Baltimore area this year when people with breathing problems were advised to limit outdoor activity, and five Code Red days when even healthy folks were urged to stay indoors. But the report says there were many more bad air days this summer and last than the public realizes, because the warnings were based on an ozone pollution standard set by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2008, which was not as strict as health experts and scientists had recommended. Using the tighter standard suggested by the experts, the report contends there would have been a lot more Code Red and Orange warnings issued.
The Obama administration had been preparing to tighten the standard, citing recommendations of a scientific panel. Advocates and health experts argued that tightening the standard would yield health benefits, in terms of reductions in absenteeism from school and work and reduced hospital admissions for breathing difficulties.
But the move drew fierce opposition from business and industry groups, which argued the costs of compliance would hammer an already sluggish economy. The White House pulled back from the effort recently, as President Obama directed EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson to postpone any further review of the smog standard until 2013.
The shelving angered environmentalists, who contended the Obama administration had acted for political reasons, leaving vulnerable people exposed to harmful air pollution. Business groups welcomed the pullback, and now are calling for EPA to pull back other pending regulations, contending they're too costly and unwarranted as well.
(2007 Baltimore Sun photo by Karl Merton Ferron)
Comments
Those regulations were planned back in 2008, based on a prior Supreme Court ruling. Businesses had all this time to prep for the new standards. When the rule comes up again in 2013, they'll still be griping that it will kill their profit margin.
Businesses do not care about the public good or environment. Regulations need to be in place to offer some protection against their greed.
Unlike Palin, I'd rather not smell the emissions. My lungs are too valuable for that.
Posted by: Daniel Ewald | September 21, 2011 11:52 AM
What are the factors that make Baltimore so smoggy?
Posted by: Anne | September 21, 2011 12:31 PM
This story misses a huge major point...
A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF BALTIMORE'S SMOG COMES FROM THE NORTHWEST, THE RUST BELT STATES, THE SMOKE STACK TOWNS.
This notion that you can crack down on all smog within Maryland and solve the problem by attacking businesses just in Maryland is bunk. The irony is that those smokestack towns probably have cleaner air and don't get hassled by the Feds.
Why? Because it's ALL blowing OUR direction!
Once again, misplaced blame.
It's stereotypical liberal philosophy. Let's take steps so we can pretend we're doing something good for the environment when we're really not putting a dent in it and instead costing people lots of jobs for baby steps in environmental progress.
In other words, low rate of return on investment, but we feel better about ourselves for trying.
WINNING!
Posted by: Joe Fab | September 21, 2011 12:32 PM
Moving Planet: A Global Day to Move Beyond Fossil Fuels
Come to the Maryland State House in Annapolis this Sat 9/24 at 11AM to have your voice heard with thousands of fellow citizens who want renewable energy sources for Maryland that don't dirty the air and cause cancer.
Posted by: Jane Hawkey | September 21, 2011 12:35 PM
Yay! We won something! I think this calls for a celebration... more Indy Car races anyone???
Posted by: toddler58 | September 21, 2011 12:44 PM
And that is with no major manufacturing.
Just think how bad it would be if the unfriendly business climate in Maryland hadn't driven the companies out of the state.
Posted by: bbingaman | September 21, 2011 12:56 PM
Baltimore is the smoggiest city on the East Coast! And DC lags close behind. So, Maryland has the two smoggiest cities on the East Coast, even though we have a state-wide policy (the Healthy Air Act passed in 2006) that cuts emissions from power plants. Our report today showed that this is not enough because a lot of Maryland's air pollution comes from other states. The EPA finalized the Cross State Air Pollution Rule earlier this summer, but that rule and the HAA primarily deal with pollution from power plants, and neither uses a standard based on public health. So more must be done to protect public health, including setting a national health-based standard for smog pollution.
http://www.environmentmaryland.org/newsroom/clean-air-news/clean-air-news/baltimore-named-smoggiest-metro-area-on-east-coast-other-maryland-metro-areas-close-behind
Posted by: Ewa Krason | September 21, 2011 3:32 PM