Ozone troubles persist
Colorado levels not getting worse, they're just not getting better
By Todd Hartman, Rocky Mountain News
Published June 16, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.
Photo by Ken Papaleo © The Rocky
Looking from the west , ozone cannot be seen but the particles suspended in air are visible on June 16, 2008. An ozone alert is expected today in Denver.
Ozone levels along the Front Range have remained flat and even increased in some years, despite a decade of major initiatives to cut emissions of the chemicals that create the pollutant.
The standoff against ozone is in stark contrast to success with other major airborne pollutants, including tiny particles and carbon monoxide, which have been driven down in the past two decades thanks to numerous local efforts and federal regulations.
The persistent ozone troubles are linked not only to chemical emissions but to clear, hot and stagnant summertime weather conditions that exacerbate the problem. The result: The region is on the wrong side of EPA health standards and under federal pressure to further cut pollutants behind ozone formation.
Regulators doing battle with ozone are frustrated, though not hopeless, as they point to some nuanced signs of progress, as well as computer simulations that show the pollutant falling slightly in some areas by 2010 due, in part, to increasingly cleaner cars and fuels.
"I don't think it's getting worse, it's just not getting better as we expected or hoped," said Ken Lloyd, who directs the Regional Air Quality Council, an agency that oversees pollution reduction in the metro area.
The optimists point out that ozone levels have essentially held steady since the early 1990s despite large increases in population, cars on the road, miles driven and an explosion in oil and gas drilling in the state.
"I call that success when we're at least keeping a lid on things and staying flat," said Mike Silverstein, a top air pollution regulator for the state's health department.
And while few are happy about skyrocketing fuel prices, the effects on ozone are almost certainly to be positive: fewer gas-guzzlers on the road, more use of mass transit, shorter commutes and a move toward higher efficiency autos could put a dent in fossil fuel combustion that leads to ozone formation.
77 million in U.S. affected
Denver is hardly alone in its struggle against ozone. EPA's recently released 2008 Report on the Environment showed ozone concentrations and ozone-forming emissions trending down nationally. Even so, the report said, in 2006, 77 million people - including residents of the Denver metro area - lived in counties where ozone levels failed to meet health standards.
"Despite reductions in ambient concentrations of ozone over the past quarter-century and decreases in (ozone-forming emissions) since 1990 . . . ozone remains one of the most persistent and ubiquitous air pollution issues in the U.S.," the EPA report said.
Inhaling ozone has been linked to numerous health effects, from causing pain when taking a deep breath to aggravating asthma or bronchitis. Evidence also suggests that adults older than 65 are at higher risk of hospitalization or death from elevated ozone levels.
Sanctions possible
The EPA - citing research on the hazards of the invisible gas - has tightened health standards twice, in 1997 and 2008.
In 1997, key monitors around the region showed higher-end ozone levels hovering between 65 and 75 parts per billion. A decade later, in 2007, the same monitors showed higher readings, between 75 and 85 ppb, even 90 ppb in one case.
It would be unfair to simply compare two years a decade apart, however, because between that time readings hovered in the midrange, with big spikes in the infamous ozone-choking summers of 1998, 2003 and, to a lesser extent, 2006, and slight drops in 2001 and 2004.
"When I eyeball the data, I see us taking the edge off the (highest readings), when I compare the first half of the 2000s and the second half," Silverstein said.
Silverstein also points to new modeling that predicts decreases in emissions of nitrogen oxides (8 percent drop) and volatile organic compounds (3 percent) - two key contributors to ozone formation - between 2006 and 2010.
But it's far from clear whether the region can drop ozone levels far enough - to consistently below 75 ppb - to measure up to new federal health standards.
Indeed, the region is still out of compliance with the old standard of 80 ppb. Failure to get levels down could eventually bring sanctions by the EPA such as a loss of highway funds and limits on new industry.
To avoid all that, officials are banking - at least in part - on further controls on oil and gas operations and the ongoing turnover of older, gas-guzzling and high-polluting cars as well as a slew of minor actions, such as paying drivers $1,000 to get rid of clunkers.
Since ozone-producing chemicals are also carried from other Western states, regulators hope improvements in those areas - such as emission controls in the oil and gas fields of Wyoming and New Mexico - also could improve Denver's situation.
Activist Jeremy Nichols of Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action, who has put relentless pressure on regulators to cut ozone, acknowledged progress, but warned that some regions are going backward, mostly due to emissions tied to the boom in natural gas drilling and production.
"We may be winning here in Denver, but losing in western Colorado and western Wyoming," where energy exploration is growing, Nichols said. "We have room for improvement for sure."
What you can do to prevent ozone formation
Drive less
Walk to lunch
Fill up your car at night
Don't top off your tank
Mow your lawn in the evening
Run errands after 5 p.m.
Ozone alert
* When: Until 4 p.m. today
* Where: Metro Denver area and along the Front Range
* Effects: Ozone pollution can trigger attacks and symptoms in people with asthma or other respiratory infections. It also can affect healthy people who work or exercise outdoors, causing breathing difficulties, eye irritation and reduced resistance to lung infections.
* Information: 24-hour air quality hotline at 303-758-4848
Efforts to cut pollutants
Along the Front Range, regulators have taken several steps to curb ozone:
* Mandated pollution controls on oil and gas drilling northeast of Denver
* Required refineries to produce lower-volatility gasoline
* Toughened auto emission tests; offered rebates to people who ditch older, high-polluting vehicles
BUT MORE PEOPLE, CARS, INDUSTRY
* Miles traveled by metro-area vehicles have gone from 40 million miles in 1990 to 68 million miles in 2005, according to the Denver Regional Council of Governments.
* The seven-county metro-area's population has increased by more than 250,000 since 2000, to nearly 2.7 million people in 2007, according to U.S. Census figures.
* An unprecedented energy rush has hit Colorado, where applications for permits to drill have tripled to beyond 6,000 a year since 2003, and could surpass 8,000 in 2008. Myriad elements of oil and gas drilling are significant sources of ozone-forming emissions.
hartmant@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5048
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June 16, 2008
5:26 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Call Al, he can fix it.
June 16, 2008
7:17 a.m.
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LingLingfor_prez writes:
Drive less? How can I possibly drive less? I am driving the minimum right now and my lunch is always sitting at my desk. If they told me to stay home until 4pm, now that would be nice.
June 16, 2008
8:31 a.m.
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LingLingfor_prez writes:
How much will the EPA fine them this time? I agree with Steel and Earl. Lol.
June 16, 2008
8:33 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
I hate Al's answering machine; keep leaving messages... you wait, my boy Al has all God's answers to creation and the seasons... and the angels that hold the winds... come on Al, damn you pick up!
June 16, 2008
8:46 a.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Don't forget the glow in the dark stools!
June 16, 2008
8:59 a.m.
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hikingartist writes:
Pretty stupid world that has to be told when not to breathe the filth they have created. Why not just curb the filth? For instance, why is it even legal to sell gasoline powered mowers, weed eaters & leaf blowers when clean electric technology exists?
June 16, 2008
9:01 a.m.
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solar_satellite writes:
LOUIE: Al is not involved, nor is Hillary.
steel: your comment has nothing to do with the article.
both & Tbone: why post comments which indicate that you either haven't read the article or are incapable of understanding it?
I suspect that your knees jerk whenever any environmental problem is discussed -- your comments are just bizarre.
June 16, 2008
9:08 a.m.
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greenleaf writes:
Ozone is a serious health issue for many. I remember when I worked outside back in the seventies, that ozone levels would get very high and even as a young man, I experienced breathing discomfort and headaches. For older people and those with asthma and other respiratory problems, high ozone levels are no laughing matter. Why, in particular do you find it funny Louie? It has nothing to do with Global Warming or Al Gore.
June 16, 2008
9:17 a.m.
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LingLingfor_prez writes:
All about location. Some places clear out better than others.
June 16, 2008
9:40 a.m.
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solar_satellite writes:
steel: there are plenty of people I respect, but dull witted right-wingers are not among them, so natually I have a low opinion of most of my fellow citizens (excuse me, consumers).
hikingartist: thanks for making a relevant comment!
I know that two-stroke motors are very polluting. Here in Capitol Hill, now that it's summer, there is scarcely a moment free of the noise of the residents operating two-stroke powered blowers, mowers, edgers, etc. over their postage stamp sized lawns. There is no reason whatever that these tools can't be replaced with relatively quiet electric ones, or even by manually operated equipment such as brooms, rakes, and shovels, though people might need to be trained how to use them.
I'm going to call the Regional Air Quality Council to ask what percentage of ozone pollution is attributed to two-strokes and to urge that they be banned.
June 16, 2008
9:58 a.m.
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Diff writes:
The level of stupidity waxing here is reaching for a new High ( or would that be low )
Even idiots ( read RushBo dido heads )have their right to free speech-
Maybe these brain washed right wingers will keep breathing in that ozone, and every other pollutant they don't believe in - and drop in a hole - one about 6'deep and 3 ' wide.
We can hope ...
June 16, 2008
10:18 a.m.
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solar_satellite writes:
Yeah, sorry Tbone, when I re-read your first comment I belatedly perceived that it was tongue-in-cheek. Immanentize the Eschaton!
June 16, 2008
12:39 p.m.
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mytwosense writes:
There are definitely an increasing amount of people with asthma and other respiratory-related health issues. I don't see how this could by caused by anything other than pollution.
June 16, 2008
1:05 p.m.
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Scott writes:
"Ozone levels along the Front Range have remained flat and even increased in some years, despite a decade of major initiatives to cut emissions of the chemicals that create the pollutant."
O.K. so while the population along the Front Range has been growing (thanks a lot Romer!), the ozone levels have remained constant. That means that the amount of ozone produced per person is actually LESS! Yes komrades! The controls that have been put into place are actually WORKING. Working to what we wanted/expected, no. However, the controls have cut down on the amount of ozone produced per person.
Scott
June 16, 2008
1:06 p.m.
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NeilT writes:
A lot of these guys are a direct result of growing up without parents that cared about them. They were not taught manners, tact or personal responsibility. It’s funny that a lot of these same folks preach personal responsibility about a multitude of issues, yet they don’t take an article like this seriously.
This is not climate change. There is no “debate” about the consequences resulting from our actions. Some people either die, or live a miserable life, due to the actions of others. Ozone issues are real and cannot be categorized with the Chicken Little freaks that want us to believe everything is bad.
June 16, 2008
3:12 p.m.
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gs writes:
The ozone problem is one that needs to be fixed and soon. (I'm from LA, do you want that quality of air here?) From the article and previous articles I don't think the EPA has a good handle on what is causing the ozone pollution. I'd like it if Ritter got involved on this.
June 16, 2008
3:41 p.m.
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HolierThanThou writes:
Why do conservatives want to poison our air?
June 16, 2008
6:35 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
My opinion without directly insulting your upbringing or lack of parentage is this: The EPA has become a nightmare on America's business. It has become so powerful as to stiffle investment in manufacturing in America. Manufacturing made us a very rich nation. Today our factories are closing, Good factory jobs and employment in America's toolbox is all but gone. Other nations with little or no EPA regulations like China and Mexico are surpassing America everyday in base manufacturing growth. With unfair trade agreements, you have forced America to abide by strict regulations enviromentally while your trading partners have little or none. Do you revert to protectionist measures in trade agreements to protect the American worker? No, you close his factory and build it in another competing country without the EPA regulations, and bring it across our boarder duty free, or under favored trade status which China operates under. The EPA has all but killed America's manufacturing base. They did so without changing the way we do business with other nations with little or no regulation. We lost jobs, factories, refineries, etc. while other nations took advantage, and made it very easy for the American industrialist to set up shop in his country. When you enact any law, there is an economic impact. The EPA has impacted business in such a drastic way here in America as to offset the positive gains they made. You may not like our humor, but even state raised kids like myself can raise an issue to be considered. If I talk to the workers in Michigan, Ohio, and other states that manufacture I might find greater respect from them. Colorado has lost most of it's manufacturing compared to decades ago. How does a nation compete globally with the EPA tying thier hands behind thier back, while the opponent is allowed free swings? Equal the playing field. It's more than the Democrat or Republican party; those two are like a teacup of misery, you want one lump or two with your tea? How much of America's industrial manufacturing is now outsourced to other countries; you don't think expensive EPA regulations are playing a part in this exodus? Want another tree hugger opinion, how about we sanitize the whole earth of 3/4 of the human population? Sooner or later the little bandaids the tree hugger is putting on humanity and it's resources will be engulfed. Maybe more people need to die. But no, we believe in saving every human being from nature, and now you have upset the balance by favoring one over the other. Nature was doing fine at checking human numbers before medical advances. Wars, desease, famine, they all had a purpose. Soon we'll have to cull our numbers just like the elk and other species that over populate thier resources for survival. Death is a good thing, I like everyone else just want to live...forever. My folks are not responsible for the aforementioned opinion; the state raised an anarchist!
June 16, 2008
6:53 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
One last thought, when that American manufacturer opens his new dirty factory in Latin America without the EPA up his pipe, what have you really done for the global enviroment, or the foriegn worker you exposed to unsafe working conditions? American worker he loses it all, but you only shifted your concerns outside your legal juristiction. Argue protectionist agreements concerning manufacturing and importation and you'll increasingly find yourself isolated from the global economy and broke as it retaliates.
June 16, 2008
8:08 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Cars are only a small part of lower level ozone levels; peak volcanic activity like St. Helens, electrical motors for all you fans of electricity, and many other more significant sources. Lower level ozone has been around long before the industrial age. But hey, the EPA says so, must be so. The evidence they profer on a seperate issue, Global Warming is extremely suspect. It's not to say the industrial age doesn't have a caustic by product, it does. But the EPA acts in a tolitarian manner without regard for other contributing factors considered, as well as the ramifications thier laws have on America's economic prosperity. I like when the say things like solar power will pay for itself in 10 years. Ever see anything these days last ten years without having to be rebuilt?
June 17, 2008
11:40 a.m.
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solar_satellite writes:
LOUIE: Your posts are nothing but cant. You cite not one specific example to support the ridiculous hypothesis that the EPA has "killed" America's manufacturing base. What about basic economics? Our standard of living greatly exceeds that of the countries which now dominate industrial manufacture, as a direct result, their labor costs are so much less than in the US that they enjoy a substantial competitive advantage. Free trade (pushed by both Republicans and Democrats) has only exacerbated this. The claim that the increased costs that result from limiting pollution are the sole reason that we have lost our manufacturing base is much like blaming high gasoline prices on failing to drill in ANWR: it serves to fool the ignorant into continuing to serve corporate interests. Society and civilisation may indeed collapse, but until then it makes sense not to poison ourselves or murder our workers.
P.S. In reference to an even more reviled (and compromised) agency, i.e. OSHA, see http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/0...
Since 1980, industry, government, and the omniscience of The Market have dictated that 350 factories in the US explode due to an accumulation of dust, killing 133 Americans and injuring many more.
P.P.S. American auto workers are out of work not because of governmental regulation but because while their unions focused on maximising pay and benefits, the American auto industry persisted in building and marketing wasteful vehicles of poor quality for thirty-five years after the gas crisis of 1973.
June 17, 2008
2:55 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Okay, I'll bite. IBM, Apple, and other computer manufacturers in the silicon valley have outsourced chip manufacturing out of the silicone valley to companies like Fujitso because of the EPA. Want more examples like DOW chemical? When it was uncovered how toxic the silicon valley had become along with worker sicknesses related to toxic exposure, IBM, Apple and other limited thier liability by moving chip manufacturing outside America. I also wish to correct something else you mentioned, I said the EPA was "part" of the problem, not the sole reason. Correct that to major part. Need more examples, please ask and I will furnish more if you like! Lets debate civily and I'll back my arguement. You wanted one example, you got it!
June 17, 2008
3:40 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
Know why all of America's high tech electronic manufacturing moved out of the country; chief cause cited EPA regulations. Thus we shifted our problems to other 3rd world nations at the expense of who? See, the american industrial output is being sent out to limit corporate liabilities under EPA's strict regulations. Want to talk about that computer your on? We'll talk about DOW chemical in a minute.
June 17, 2008
6:31 p.m.
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LOUIE writes:
3 major issues are closing down America's manufacturing, we can argue which is the most at fault. Taxes, labor, extreme government regulation. The EPA has made business equally as difficult as the other two.