http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/soot-suit-it-shouldnt-be-necessary-to-sue-for-the-right-to-breathe Published on Tuesday, July 15, 2008 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/soot-suit-it-shouldnt-be-necessary-to-sue-for-the-right-to-breathe Wed, 16 Jul 2008 10:50:00 -0500 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/duke-rethinks-pollution-controls http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/duke-rethinks-pollution-controls Tue, 17 Jun 2008 11:27:17 -0500 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/epa-sets-new-standard-for-nations-air-quality The http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/epa-sets-new-standard-for-nations-air-quality Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:12:06 -0500 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/groups-fighting-cliffside-permit A host of environmental groups have asked N.C. regulators to modify or revoke a permit for Duke Energy's expanded Cliffside power plant. The groups, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center, said a federal court ruling last month means the permit should be reopened. The coal-burning plant is 50 miles west of Charlotte. In a petition Wednesday to the N.C. Division of Air Quality, they argue that further study is needed on whether the plant will use the best available controls on mercury and other hazardous air pollutants. The law center says two dozen other U.S. facilities operate with stronger pollution controls than Cliffside, which will get a new 800-megawatt boiler. "The (N.C.) Division of Air Quality must now go back and do its homework by first identifying the highest achievable level of control for this hazardous pollutant and then requiring Duke to implement it," law-center attorney Gudrun Thompson said in a statement. The air-quality agency has not decided whether to reopen the permit, said Diana Kees, spokeswoman for the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources. "We will be taking (the petition) under consideration," she said. Duke, which has said it is using the best mercury technology available, has already begun work on the $1.8 billion project. State officials had cut the amount of mercury Cliffside may release before issuing an air permit for the plant Jan. 29. Cliffside's permit already controls mercury well enough that additional analysis would not significantly change anything, the air quality division has said. The plant now emits 157 pounds of mercury a year. The new permit caps the release at 99 pounds a year, although Duke says actual emissions will range from 70 to 80 pounds. Mercury is hotly debated because its most toxic form, methymercury, can accumulate in fish and pass to people who eat fish. N.C. authorities estimate that more than 13,000 infants a year could face developmental problems because their mothers ate tainted fish. State fish-consumption advisories are in effect for certain fish species caught east of Interstate 85, and statewide for largemouth bass. Cliffside also needs review for 66 other pollutants affected by the court ruling, the petitioners say, including hydrochloric acid, arsenic and heavy metals. In a Feb. 8 ruling, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia overturned 2005 federal rules that removed power plants from sources whose toxic emissions, including mercury, are most tightly regulated. North Carolina later adopted a version of those rules. Wednesday's petitioners Environment North Carolina; Environmental Defense; National Parks Conservation Association; Natural Resources Defense Council; N.C. Waste Awareness & Reduction Network; N.C. chapter of the Sierra Club; Southern Alliance for Clean Energy; and Riverkeepers for the Cape Fear, Catawba, Lower Neuse, New, Pamlico-Tar, Upper Neuse, Watauga, Waccamaw and Yadkin rivers, plus the Cape Fear Coastkeeper. http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/groups-fighting-cliffside-permit Thu, 06 Mar 2008 17:38:59 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/fight-over-coal-plant-focused-on-mercury CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Duke Energy Corp.'s newest coal-fired power http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/fight-over-coal-plant-focused-on-mercury Thu, 28 Feb 2008 15:56:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/smokies-power-plant-decried The air quality in the Smoky Mountains, Linville Gorge and other http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/smokies-power-plant-decried Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:20:01 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/why-we-are-marching Letter To the Editor By: Avram Friedman http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/why-we-are-marching Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/rowan-air-quality-bad-but-shows-improvement By: Steve HuffmanFirst the bad news: Rowan is one of two counties in the state out of http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/rowan-air-quality-bad-but-shows-improvement Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/relay-for-clean-air-more-important-than-ever-event-organizers-say As http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/relay-for-clean-air-more-important-than-ever-event-organizers-say Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/walk-run-and-bike-for-clean-air http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/walk-run-and-bike-for-clean-air Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/beijing-gets-clean-air-tips-in-rtp http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/beijing-gets-clean-air-tips-in-rtp Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/unhealthy-ozone-levels-expected By: Staff Reports http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/unhealthy-ozone-levels-expected Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/epa-airs-plan-to-tighten-ozone-smog-standards Morning Edition, June 21, 2007 · http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/epa-airs-plan-to-tighten-ozone-smog-standards Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/triangle-air-quality-expected-to-be-better-today DURHAM -- Triangle residents who chilled in the air-conditioning and refreshed in swimming pools during Tuesday's 96-degree broiler should be breathing easier today, and not just because the National Weather Service is predicting cooler temperatures. According to the N.C. Division of Air Quality, levels of ozone -- best known as the main ingredient in smog -- have been trending down in the past several years, possibly as the result of increased federal and state regulations on harmful emissions. While Tuesday's issuance of a code orange meant those with respiratory difficulties should avoid prolonged exposure to the outdoors, the need for such warnings has decreased over the past five years, according to Tom Mather, spokesperson for the Division of Air Quality. Mather said the weather conditions of the past two summers in North Carolina bear striking similarities to the hot and very dry summers of 1998 and 1999 -- with one glaring difference. In the summer of 1998, the division recorded 70 "bad air days," while in 1999 it recorded 68 "bad air days," Mather said. The summer of 2005 had similar conditions to 1998 and 1999, but only 21 "bad air days" were recorded that year and 26 in 2006. Ozone, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is a gas that occurs in both good and bad forms in the Earth's atmosphere. "Good" ozone is found in the Earth's upper atmosphere and serves as the planet's protective shield against ultraviolet rays. "Bad" ozone is produced by the chemical reaction of sunlight combining with the gasses emitted primarily from vehicles and power plants. While the number of bad air days occurring each summer during ozone season (May through September) is down, Mather cautioned that now is not a time for Triangle residents to get complacent about reducing emissions and conserving fuel. Whatever positive changes have occurred soon could be compromised by an influx of people into the region and a corresponding increase in cars. Because the quality of air is so closely related to the weather that a rain storm or sudden cloud cover could make any forecast inaccurate, the Division of Air Quality doesn't project beyond one day out, Mather said. In general, however, hot, dry and sunny summer days also will be bad air days, Mather said. For that reason, today and Thursday shouldn't be too harsh on Triangle residents' lungs. On Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service was predicting scattered showers and thunderstorms with 8 mile per hour winds and temperatures nearing 87 degrees. Friday and the weekend are likely to be hotter and sunnier, according to the National Weather Service, with temperatures in the lower 90s and no call for rain on those days. http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/triangle-air-quality-expected-to-be-better-today Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/conference-sparks-clean-air-ideas By: Marcie Young (myoung@charlotteobserver.com) http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/conference-sparks-clean-air-ideas Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/state-regulators-reject-bid-to-block-coal-plant By: John Murawski State regulators this morning rebuffed a bid by environmentalist groups http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/state-regulators-reject-bid-to-block-coal-plant Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/cutting-haze-air-quality-index-merits-attention-and-we-can-fight-the-red-experts-say By: Laura Giovanelli We’ve all heard the summertime warning. http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/cutting-haze-air-quality-index-merits-attention-and-we-can-fight-the-red-experts-say Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/fines-increase-for-air-polluters N.C. laws not up to par in regionBy: David PearsonDirty business will get more expensive in North Carolina if Rep. Lucy Allen, D-Franklin, has her way.Allen co-sponsored a bill with Rep. Pryor Gibson, D-Anson that passed in the N.C. House of Representatives May 16 which will more than double the fines for companies who violate state air pollution laws.The maximum fine will increase from $10,000 to $25,000, a penalty Allen said is levied against only 1 percent of violators.She said the bill is meant to signal to companies that the state is serious about reducing air pollution."We have some repeat violators because it's cheaper to pay the fine than to be clean," Allen said. He emphasized the need to increase penalties so that no companies can afford to ignore regulations.North Carolina last increased these penalties in 1991, Allen said, when the fine went from $5,000 to $10,000.Allen is the chair of the Environment and Natural Resources committee in the N.C. House, and said she wanted this for the benefit of the environment and to maintain the state's pace in updating environmental legislation."It will let repeat violators know this is more than just the cost of business," she said.Dana Yeganian, a spokeswoman for Progress Energy, said the company places a great deal of importance on following pollution laws."We are very serious about our environmental compliance," she said.A letter from Yeganian's office said that Progress Energy does not have any issues with the bill as it is written, and that the company expects to spend between $1.1 billion and $1.4 billion to reduce its air emissions in the next six years."Progress Energy takes compliance with all environmental regulations requirements very seriously," the letter stated, adding that Progress will invest as needed to meet federal clean air laws.The state Senate began discussion of the bill Monday, and was referred to the Agriculture/Environment/Natural Resource committee.Virginia has fines for similar violations which are higher than those the Federal government imposes, Allen said. She added that she'd like for North Carolina to keep up with its neighbors in the Southeast."We certainly need to be taking care of air pollution in North Carolina." http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/fines-increase-for-air-polluters Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/regions-anti-pollution-plan-falls-short-group-says By: Bruce Henderson The Charlotte region has more work to do to combat http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/regions-anti-pollution-plan-falls-short-group-says Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/tva-cleanup-might-save-lives-here Reports by experts supporting North Carolina's lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority describe how much cleaner and healthier the state could be if more pollution controls were added to the power agency's plants. People in the East and Midwest would suffer about 1,400 fewer premature deaths a year, environmental health experts say, while North Carolina children would miss 2,300 fewer school days annually. And the views in the Great Smoky Mountains would increase from 15 miles to 26 miles on the smoggiest days, says another.The reports, filed as part of the lawsuit scheduled for trial this fall, offer an unusual look at air pollution problems in North Carolina. They consider what benefits the state and other parts of the Southeast could get if the TVA met the same standards for its plants that North Carolina has for its own.Residents of North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee would gain the most health benefits from cuts in pollution, said the experts in power plant emissions, air modeling and environmental health."These expert reports show that pollution from TVA has a devastating impact on the air we breathe and the health of North Carolinians," said Roy Cooper, state attorney general, in a statement. He declined to be interviewed, citing the pending lawsuit.TVA officials dispute claims that pollution from their plants harms North Carolinians. They say they have spent $4.6 billion in the past 30 years to reduce emissions and are complying with federal air pollution laws.In addition, the utility is spending $1.2 billion on pollution controls being built or scheduled at three plants in East Tennessee. In February, the utility announced plans to put scrubbers on its John Sevier plant at Rogersville, Tenn., the closest to North Carolina, beginning in 2008."There is no evidence that TVA's emissions are having any kind of adverse health effects on people in Tennessee or North Carolina," said John Moulton, a TVA spokesman. "The air quality in Tennessee, North Carolina and the entire region is a lot better than any time in the past three decades and continues to improve."Last year, Cooper sued the TVA, claiming that North Carolina residents suffered ill health from pollutants blowing across the mountains from TVA's 11 coal-fired power plants in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. North Carolina's environment and economy also are harmed by TVA's emissions, which pose a nuisance, the lawsuit contends.The lawsuit asks the court to order TVA to reduce emissions of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides and mercury. The pollutants create haze and soot, foul creeks and lead to acid rain.A trial on the lawsuit is tentatively scheduled in U.S. District Court in Asheville in October.Meanwhile, the TVA is asking a federal appeals court to dismiss the suit, arguing essentially that as a federal agency, the utility has immunity from nuisance lawsuits. A lower court rejected the dismissal motion. Nineteen states, including New York, California, Ohio and South Carolina, have joined North Carolina in opposing TVA's appeal.Congress created the authority in 1933 to provide power and promote economic development in the Southeast. Today, it is the nation's largest public power company. It provides electricity to 8.7 million people in parts of seven states. The 11 coal-burning plants produce most of its electricity.The TVA said it is taking a broad approach to improving air quality and plans to make its emissions cleaner than even North Carolina's. But most of the reductions aren't expected until after 2015.State officials say the lawsuit's goal is to get reductions more quickly. Cooper is asking the court to make TVA cut emissions to levels near those that are required for North Carolina plants under the state's Clean Smokestacks Act by 2013.Computer simulations of wind-driven emissions from the TVA plants show that pollutants from each plant foul North Carolina's air and environment, as well as that of many other states, according to a report prepared by Sonoma Technology, a consulting firm specializing in air quality analysis.The consultants estimated emission levels at TVA plants in 2013 without additional controls, then projected that installing controls similar to those planned at North Carolina utilities would reduce nitrogen oxides by 48 percent and cut sulphur dioxide by 69 percent.Nitrogen oxides contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone. Both nitrogen oxides and sulphur dioxide contribute to the formation of tiny particles of soot that can penetrate deep in the lungs.Fine soot and ozone are linked to thousands of premature deaths and illnesses each year, as well as reduced visibility, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says.John Spengler and Jonathan Levy, professors of environmental health at Harvard University, said that the reduced levels would avert about 1,400 premature deaths annually across 33 states in the East and Midwest where TVA pollution disperses.About 99 North Carolinians a year would be spared, the professors said. Tennessee would have the most early deaths prevented, 180.Besides fewer early deaths and illnesses, added controls would improve vistas at national parks and wilderness areas in Western North Carolina.For example, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park would have clearer visibility 43 days a year, while wilderness areas such as Shining Rock would have improved views up to 55 days a year. Visibility in the Great Smoky Mountains would increase from 15 miles to 26 miles on the smoggiest days.James Staudt, who consults on utility air pollution controls, estimated the total cost to retrofit TVA plants with air pollution control between 2008 and 2012 would be $3 billion, plus $220 million a year in operating costs.David Freeman, a former chairman of the TVA board of directors who also gave expert testimony for North Carolina, said Staudt's estimates are in line with TVA's own estimates of $3 billion to $5 billion in its 2005 annual report."The control measures ... are commonplace in the electric power industry today, and in my view, are clearly doable by TVA," Freeman said.Freeman said that keeping utility rates low at the expense of human health and the environment is unacceptable in the 21st century."I testify with sadness and regret," Freeman said, "that the current TVA management needs a nudge from its neighbors in order to do what clearly is required for environmental stewardship." http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/tva-cleanup-might-save-lives-here Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/justices-rule-against-duke-on-pollution-controls The Supreme Court gave a boost today to a federal clean air initiative aimed at forcing utilities to install pollution control equipment on aging coal-fired power plants. In a unanimous decision, the justices ruled against Duke Energy Corp. in a lawsuit brought by the Clinton administration, part of a massive enforcement effort targeting more than a dozen utilities.Most companies settled with the government, but several Clinton-era cases involving more than two dozen power plants in the South and the Midwest are still pending. The remaining suits demand fines for past pollution that if levied in full would run into billions of dollars.The justices ruled that the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., overstepped its authority by implicitly invalidating Environmental Protection Agency regulations in a way that favored Duke. The case now returns to the lower courts.The appeals court's decision "seems to us too far a stretch," Justice David Souter wrote.The enforcement program is aimed at reducing power plant emissions of nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide that contribute to smog and acid rain. Sulfur dioxide is the leading cause of acid rain.The utility industry has long resisted installing costly pollution controls under the program called New Source Review. It waged vigorous campaigns against the program starting in the 1980s and more recently by battling it out with regulators when sued in federal courts.Greenhouse gases are air pollutants under the landmark environmental law, Justice John Paul Stevens said in his majority opinion.The court's four conservative justices — Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas — dissented.Many scientists believe that greenhouse gases, flowing into the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate, are leading to a warming of the Earth, rising sea levels and other marked ecological changes.The politics of global warming have changed dramatically since the court agreed last year to hear its first global warming case.Democrats took control of Congress last November. The world's leading climate scientists reported in February that global warming is "very likely" caused by man and is so severe that it will "continue for centuries." Former Vice President Al Gore's movie, An Inconvenient Truth _ making the case for prompt action on climate change _ won an Oscar. Business leaders are saying they are increasingly open to congressional action to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, of which carbon dioxide is the largest.Carbon dioxide is produced when fossil fuels such as oil and natural gas are burned. One way to reduce those emissions is to have more fuel-efficient cars.The court had three questions before it. Do states have the right to sue the EPA to challenge its decision? Does the Clean Air Act give EPA the authority to regulate tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases? Does EPA have the discretion not to regulate those emissions?The court said yes to the first two questions. On the third, it ordered EPA to re-evaluate its contention it has the discretion not to regulate tailpipe emissions. The court said the agency has so far provided a "laundry list" of reasons that include foreign policy considerations.The majority said the agency must tie its rationale more closely to the Clean Air Act."EPA has offered no reasoned explanation for its refusal to decide whether greenhouse gases cause or contribute to climate change," Stevens said. He was joined by his liberal colleagues, Justices Stephen Breyer, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and David Souter, and the court's swing voter, Justice Anthony Kennedy.The lawsuit was filed by 12 states and 13 environmental groups that had grown frustrated by the Bush administration's inaction on global warming.In his dissent, Roberts focused on the issue of standing, whether a party has the right to file a lawsuit.The court should simply recognize that redress of the kind of grievances spelled out by the state of Massachusetts is the function of Congress and the chief executive, not the federal courts, Roberts said.His position "involves no judgment on whether global warming exists, what causes it, or the extent of the problem," he said.The decision also is expected to boost California's prospects for gaining EPA approval of its own program to limit tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases. Federal law considers the state a laboratory on environmental issues and gives California the right to seek approval of standards that are stricter than national norms. http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/justices-rule-against-duke-on-pollution-controls Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/pollution-control-case-goes-before-high-court http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/pollution-control-case-goes-before-high-court Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/supreme-court-to-take-up-duke-case It will review decision on air-pollution rules http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/supreme-court-to-take-up-duke-case Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/editorial--breathe-at-your-own-risk The most lethal pollution we breathe may be tiny soot particles that http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/editorial--breathe-at-your-own-risk Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/whats-in-the-air Duke Energy, conservationists at odds over coal-fired plants http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/whats-in-the-air Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/coal-mountain July is a bad month for state legislators to consider letting a Western http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/coal-mountain Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/duke-energy-asks-credit-for-scrubbers-paid-by-consumers  RALEIGH, N.C. -- Duke Energy Corp. may get a http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/duke-energy-asks-credit-for-scrubbers-paid-by-consumers Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/cooper-appeals-epa-air-decision-groups-join-fight   http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/cooper-appeals-epa-air-decision-groups-join-fight Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/supreme-court-to-decide-when-best-pollution-controls-required   http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/supreme-court-to-decide-when-best-pollution-controls-required Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/mercury-warning-issued http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/mercury-warning-issued Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/epa-to-investigate-higher-cancer-risk By Bruce HendersonThe Environmental Protection Agency says it will investigate toxic http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/epa-to-investigate-higher-cancer-risk Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/cleaner-air-part-ii North Carolina has been a regional leader in improving air quality through cleaner power-plant emissions. The state's next target should be the pollution that comes out of vehicle tail pipes. http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/cleaner-air-part-ii Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/new-strategy-on-clean-air The steady erosion of the nation's clean air laws under the Bush http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/new-strategy-on-clean-air Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/environmentalists-press-n_c_-to-toughen-laws-on-emissions By David Ingram http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/environmentalists-press-n_c_-to-toughen-laws-on-emissions Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/standards-even-approved-amount-of-ozone-is-found-harmful By Nicholas BakalarFebruary 28, 2006A study sponsored by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has found that air even at the E.P.A.'s current acceptable level of ozone — 80 parts per billion — can bring on a significantly increased risk of premature death. Ozone, the major component of smog, is a molecule consisting of three oxygen atoms bound together. It can cause lung damage when inhaled. By applying statistical models to air pollution, weather and mortality for 98 American cities over a 14-year period, the researchers determined that an increase of 10 parts per billion in ozone concentrations measured day to day causes a 0.3 percent increase in early mortality. The study will be published in April in the print edition of Environmental Health Perspectives and is now online at the journal's Web site.Michelle L. Bell, the lead author on the study, said that in a city the size of New York a 0.3 percent increase in mortality was equivalent to an additional 2,000 deaths a year.Even very low levels of ozone concentration are dangerous, noted Dr. Bell, an assistant professor in the School of Forestry and Environmental Studies at Yale."We found strong evidence that if there is any safe level for ozone's impact on mortality, it is at very low concentrations, nearing natural background levels," she said. "This means that any reduction in ozone would benefit public health, even in areas that currently meet regulatory standards." The E.P.A. is reviewing the scientific information on ozone to decide whether to revise the standards set in 1997, Dr. Bell added. "One hundred million people live in areas that exceed the current E.P.A. acceptable level," she said. http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/standards-even-approved-amount-of-ozone-is-found-harmful Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/warning-our-air-could-harm-you Mecklenburg residents at greater risk of cancer from pollution, mostly from motor vehiclesBy Bruce Henderson Breathing in a traffic-heavy city like Charlotte may raise your chances of getting sick, new federal data shows.Mecklenburg County ranks in the top 4 percent in the nation for the risks of cancer and respiratory ailments from toxic air pollution, according to estimates the Environmental Protection Agency released this week.Most of the county pollution comes from motor vehicles.One in three Americans -- 330,000 in a million -- will eventually develop cancer in a lifetime. In parts of central and western Mecklenburg, the EPA figures show, toxic air adds the risk of an additional 50 or more cancers per million.Guilford County ranks highest in North Carolina for cancer risks, followed by Mecklenburg. Mecklenburg and Gaston counties have the state's highest risks of respiratory disease.EPA is paying increased attention to toxic pollutants, especially those from motor vehicles. The agency will soon propose new rules to control toxic pollutants from vehicles, which, in Mecklenburg, spew five times more of the chemicals than industries."This is reaffirming what other studies have shown, that traffic exhaust kills people," said Dr. Clay Ballantine, an Asheville internal medicine physician and public-health advocate on air pollution.While the risks from toxic air aren't huge, he said, they're as avoidable as choosing not to smoke."Knowing what I know," Ballantine said, "there's no way I would live next to a four-lane highway."Traffic on Interstate 77 roars 200 feet past Summit Avenue, a leafy street of restored bungalows near uptown Charlotte. Neighbors talk more about noise than pollution."We still have to realize, regardless of which way the wind blows, that pollution is going to be there," said Robert Robinson, a retired cement mason who's lived in his tidy brick home for 40 years. His doctor tells him that, at 71, he's in good health.Down the street, Hattie Johnson walked Chuck the Chihuahua toward home. "I hear it," she said, nodding toward the freeway, "but I never smell anything."To produce its estimates, EPA combined 1999 emission and population figures with the known health effects of 177 hazardous air pollutants.Unlike more familiar pollutants, such as the irritating gas ozone, those pollutants are known or suspected of causing cancer or other health problems, such as birth defects.Benzene, found in gasoline, poses the biggest cancer risk in the nation and in Mecklenburg. Acrolein, a byproduct of engine combustion and fire, causes most respiratory problems.Unhealthy levels of benzene have been known to be in North Carolina's air for at least 10 years, said Lori Cherry, who heads the state toxic-air programs. But it's been nearly impossible to control because no standards exist for benzene emissions from cars, the chief source.An N.C. Senate measure to encourage sales of low-emission cars, sponsored by Mecklenburg Democrat Dan Clodfelter, never got out of committee last year.More accurate estimates of public-health risks from toxic air, Cherry said, would include actual air measurements. But North Carolina has only seven toxic-air monitors, one of those in Mecklenburg.The EPA findings, while useful, don't consider the combined health effects of multiple pollutants, said Mecklenburg air-quality director Don Willard.Doug Crawford-Brown, director of UNC Chapel Hill's Carolina Environmental Program who worked with EPA on the project, cautioned against seeking fine detail in the estimates. It's not intended to compare an area smaller than a county or two, he said."What you can do is get a rough idea as to what the risk would be to a representative person in North Carolina, and what (pollution) sources are dominant," he said.Diesel exhaust, which environmental groups say pose eight times the N.C. cancer risk of all other toxic pollutants in the analysis, wasn't evaluated. EPA acknowledges diesel's risk, but said it didn't have enough data to include it.Most people, the analysis concluded, face a lifetime risk from toxic air of 1 to 25 cancer cases for every 1 million people. But in cities like Charlotte, the risk increases to more than 50 cases per million.Because the data on which they're based is seven years old, the EPA findings don't reflect recent clean-air measures.New fuel and engine standards are expected to reduce benzene levels 60 percent by 2020.Clean-engine and fuel standards, while aimed at pollutants such as ozone, will have the side benefit of reducing toxic pollution from vehicles 80 percent by 2030, EPA says.Ted Mellnik contributed. http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/warning-our-air-could-harm-you Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/air-pollution-doesnt-stop-at-state-line TVA emissions are making N.C. people sick, hurting mountain economyBy Roy Cooper http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/air-pollution-doesnt-stop-at-state-line Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/state-sues-tva-over-air-pollution By Wade Rawlins, Staff http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/state-sues-tva-over-air-pollution Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/belews-plant-releases-tons-of-toxins-in-triad http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/belews-plant-releases-tons-of-toxins-in-triad Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/12-states-oppose-bush-pollution-plan By MICHAEL GORMLEY, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/12-states-oppose-bush-pollution-plan Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/food-pyramid-recommends-three-fish-that-epa-fda-warn-are-high-in-mercury BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/food-pyramid-recommends-three-fish-that-epa-fda-warn-are-high-in-mercury Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/fda-to-investigate-mercury-levels-in-tuna BY SAM ROE http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/fda-to-investigate-mercury-levels-in-tuna Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/arguing-about-air Lawsuit seeks further reductions in TVA's air pollution http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/arguing-about-air Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/to-sue-the-tva Not so long ago, an unhealthy blanket of air pollution clung to North http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/to-sue-the-tva Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/sticker-shock Emissions test drives up cost of inspections http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/sticker-shock Fri, 16 Nov 2007 22:14:31 -0600 http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/north-carolina-gets-go-ahead-in-its-tva-pollution-suit The state of North Carolina can proceed with a lawsuit against the Tennessee Valley Authority that demands the utility clean up its power plants and reduce air pollution, a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. The three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected TVA's motion to dismiss the lawsuit and affirmed an earlier decision by a lower court to let the nuisance lawsuit go forward. North Carolina sued the TVA in 2006, claiming that thousands of North Carolina residents suffered ill health from pollutants blowing across the mountains from TVA's 11 coal-fired power plants in Alabama, Kentucky and Tennessee. North Carolina's environment and economy also are harmed by TVA's emissions, which pose a public nuisance, the lawsuit contends. "Clean air is critical to our health and our economy," Attorney General Roy Cooper of North Carolina said in a statement after the decision. "This ruling clears the way for us to to make TVA clean up its pollution that's dirtying our air and making North Carolinians sick." TVA officials dispute claims that their plants harm North Carolinians. Officials say they are complying with federal air pollution laws and have spent almost $5 billion in the past 30 years to reduce emissions, including $1.2 billion on pollution controls at three plants in East Tennessee. TVA asked a federal appeals court to dismiss the suit, arguing essentially that as a federal agency, the utility has immunity from nuisance lawsuits. But the argument has now failed twice to convince judges. "We're disappointed in the outcome," said John Moulton, a TVA spokesman. "We're analyzing the decision and considering what steps we would need to take." Moulton said TVA did an analysis showing that emissions from North Carolina power plants affect air quality in the state far more than emissions from TVA plants. And the state's home-grown pollution, he said, would continue to have more effect than TVA's -- even after utilities cut pollution to comply with North Carolina air pollution law. North Carolina argued before the Fourth Circuit that TVA can be held accountable in court for their business decisions related to producing power, including creating pollution. Reports by environmental health experts filed as part of North Carolina's lawsuit suggest residents of Southeastern and Midwestern states would see significant health benefits from cuts in TVA pollution. The experts projected that reductions in TVA emissions would mean 1,400 fewer premature deaths a year and 2,300 fewer missed school days from asthma and other ailments. North Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee would realize the greatest benefits. Nineteen states, including New York, California, Ohio and South Carolina, joined North Carolina in opposing TVA's appeal. The American Lung Association also sided with the state. The TVA has said it is taking a broad approach to improving air quality and plans to make its emissions cleaner than even North Carolina's. But most of the reductions aren't expected until after 2015. The goal of the lawsuit is to get clear air more quickly. The federal district court has been awaiting the appeals court decision before setting a trial date in the lawsuit. http://www.environmentnorthcarolina.org/in-the-news/clean-air/clean-air/north-carolina-gets-go-ahead-in-its-tva-pollution-suit Fri, 01 Feb 2008 11:46:35 -0600