Austin Suffering From Worst Smog Season Since 2006

One More Moderately Bad Day Will Trigger Non-Attainment with Clean Air Act

AUSTIN– With eight days thus far in 2011 where smog levels exceeded the national health standard, Environment Texas announced today that Austin is suffering from the worst smog season since 2006. Smog is a harmful air pollutant that leads to asthma attacks and exacerbates respiratory illnesses, especially among children and the elderly.

“Texans deserve clean air.  But on far too many days, people in Texas are exposed to dangerous smog pollution,” said Luke Metzger, Director of Environment Texas. “For the sake of our children, we must make every day a safe day to breathe.”

According to the Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG), Austin’s eight high ozone days thus far in 2011 are the most since the region endured 18 ozone days in 2006. With the ozone season lasting until the end of October, Austin could still experience additional unhealthy air days. Just one more moderately bad smog day could push the Austin region in to non-attainment with the federal Clean Air Act.

A new Environment Texas report, Danger in the Air: Unhealthy Air Days in 2010 and 2011, found that there were 48 days in 2010 in Texas when at least part of the state experienced smog levels exceeding the national health standard. The report ranks cities in Texas and across the country for the number of days when the air was unhealthy to breathe due to smog pollution last year and this summer, and includes new data showing that the problem is even worse than the public thought.  The research shows that on 20 additional days last year, residents in Texas were exposed to smog levels that a national scientific panel has found to be dangerous to breathe, but because of outdated federal air quality rules, those at risk were never alerted to unhealthy air levels.

Seven metropolitan areas in Texas are among the top twenty-thirty smoggiest small, mid-sized, and large metropolitan areas in the country. With 27 smog days, including one “red-alert” day, Houston ranked sixth among large metropolitan areas in 2010. Fort Worth-Arlington ranked 14th with 15 smog days and Dallas ranked 23rd with 12 smog days. The Beaumont-Port Arthur area tied for 10th place among mid-sized metro areas and Galveston-Texas City tied for 20th. Among small metro areas, Brazoria tied for 2nd in the nation and Longview-Marshall tied for 7th. The Austin-San Marcos area had 3 smog days in 2010.

Dr. Elliot Trester of Austin Physicians for Social Responsibility joined Environment Texas in releasing today’s report at his clinic Central Family Practice.

“We need stronger rules to protect us from smog pollution,” said Dr. Trester. “As Texans, we deserve not only to have skies that are not cloudy all day, but also air that is as free of smog as possible.” 

Smog is one of the most harmful air pollutants, and is also one of the most pervasive. Smog is formed when pollution from cars, power plants, and industrial facilities reacts with other pollutant in the presence of sunlight.  Smog is of particular concern in the summer months when warmer temperatures lead to the build-up of higher concentrations of smog pollution.

On days with elevated levels of smog pollution, children, the elderly, and people with respiratory illness suffer the most. Children who grow up in areas with high levels of smog may develop diminished lung capacity, putting them at greater risk of lung disease later in life. Additionally, children exposed to smog in the womb can experience lower birth weight and growth retardation.  Even among healthy adults, repeated exposure to smog pollution over time permanently damages lung tissues, decreases the ability to breathe normally, exacerbates chronic diseases like asthma, and can even cause premature death. An estimated 869,000 adults and 438,000 children in Texas have asthma.

Under the federal Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set a national standard for smog pollution according to the latest science on air quality and public health.  However, the current standard was set at a level that EPA’s own board of independent scientists agree is not adequately protective of public health.  The Obama administration considered updating the standard this year to protect public health, but the president decided earlier this month to abandon this effort until 2013.  Environment Texas and prominent public health groups expressed deep disappointment with his decision. 

“For too long, smog pollution has left our children gasping for breath,” said Metzger. “Unfortunately, rather than acting decisively to protect our kids from dangerous air pollution, President Obama chose to kick the can down the road.  Texas’ kids, senior citizens and those suffering from respiratory problems will suffer as a consequence and certainly deserve better.”

Environment Texas called on the president to protect the health of Texas’ children and seniors, and to establish an updated standard for smog pollution that is based on the science. A strong standard could save up to 12,000 lives and prevent up to 58,000 asthma attacks each year. At the same time, polluters and their allies in the House of Representatives are threatening to make the problem even worse by pushing a bill this week—the TRAIN Act (H.R. 2401)—to roll back existing smog pollution standards for power plants.

“We must make every day a safe day to breathe,” said Metzger. “President Obama and Texas’ members of Congress should stand up for Texans’ health and oppose any attacks to the Clean Air Act, including voting against a bill in the U.S. House of Representatives this week that would roll back existing clean air protections for smog and other deadly pollutants.”