Augusta's air quality this summer will determine if the city can comply with stricter pollution standards to be added to the U.S.. Clean Air Act.
The Environmental Protection agency's new rules for ground-level ozone-smog's main ingredient-suggest limits that would fall into a range between 60 to 70 parts per billion over an eight-hour average.
EPA plans to select a specific figure within that range by August, and pass-fail recommendations will be made in 2011 by averaging three years of data.
Augusta is barely in compliance with the current standard of 75 parts per billion, said Jimmy Johnston, planning and support program manager with the Georgia Environmental Protection Division's Air Protection Branch.
Based on readings from 2007 to 2009, Augusta's 75 parts per billion average meets the standard, as does Columbia County's 71 parts per billion, he said.
South Carolina monitors recorded averages of 75 in Jackson and 71 in Trenton.
All four areas, however, would flunk the new standard, risking the unwanted "non-attainment" designation that could place restrictions on industrial permitting and transportation funding.
Since the decisions are based on three years of data, however, the ozone levels later this year will be factored into data used to make those decisions, he said. "So you have one more year to factor in."
The tightening of the federal rules will also encourage better local efforts to reduce air pollution, Johnston said today, during a meeting of the CSRA Air Quality Alliance, a regional stakeholders group.
Georgia officials who will make non-attainment recommendations to EPA next year also must decide how large those areas should be to best protect public health.
Local efforts to reduce pollution, he added, can have an influence on federal policy.
"When we make our recommendations, we can say what the local community is doing to help, and it might reduce the size of non-attainment areas," he said.
The Augusta region already has taken steps to curb air pollution, including creation of the state's first "early action compact" designed to reduce unwanted emission, said Marya Moultrie of the Augusta-Richmond County Planning Commission.
Other efforts in place include "no idle" policies on many government and private vehicle fleets, retrofitting school buses and other vehicles with cleaner emission controls, a lawn mower exchange program in North Augusta, the use of fuel cell forklifts at the Bridgestone Firestone plant in South Carolina, tax credits for the use of solar energy technology and a seasonal ban on outdoor burning, she said.
Non-attainment decisions also can be influenced by factors including emissions from local industries, population density, meteorology trend, traffic and commuting patterns, said Joel Huey of EPA's Region IV air planning branch in Atlanta.
The government's ongoing effort to reduce pollution is based on sound science, he added. "When we tighten standards, it means the best scientific evidence shows it is necessary to protect human health."
Reach Rob Pavey at (706) 868-1222, ext. 119, or rob.pavey@augustachronicle.com
WHAT IS OZONE?
What comes out of the tailpipe on a car isn't ozone, but raw ingredients for it. Ozone is formed by chemical reactions of nitrogen oxides and hydrocarbons, also called volatile organic compounds. They are produced primarily when fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil or coal are burned or when some chemicals, such as solvents, evaporate. They combine with heat and sunlight to form ozone smog.
Source: American Lung Association
HOW IS OZONE HARMFUL?
The same chemical properties that allow high concentrations of ozone to react with organic material outside the body give it the ability to react with similar organic material that makes up the body, and potentially cause harmful health consequences. When inhaled, ozone can damage the lungs. Relatively low amounts can cause chest pain, coughing, shortness of breath, and, throat irritation. Ozone may also worsen chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and compromise the ability of the body to fight respiratory infections. People vary widely in their susceptibility to ozone. Healthy people, as well as those with respiratory difficulty, can experience breathing problems when exposed to ozone. Exercise during exposure to ozone causes a greater amount of ozone to be inhaled, and increases the risk of harmful respiratory effects. Recovery from the harmful effects can occur following short-term exposure to low levels of ozone, but health effects may become more damaging and recovery less certain at higher levels or from longer exposures.
Source: US Environmental Protection Agency
To learn more about the CSRA Air Quality Alliance:
http://www.csra-airquality-alliance.com/
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