understanding and communicating ambient air quality in iowa james hodina, ms qep manager,...
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Understanding and Communicating Ambient Air
Quality in IowaJames Hodina, MS QEP
Manager, Environmental Public HealthLinn County Public Health
Regulated Air Pollutants
EPA regulates two sets of air pollutants Criteria Pollutants Hazardous Air Pollutants
Under the Clean Air Act, EPA establishes primary air quality standards to protect public health Shall be protective of human health and the
environment with an adequate margin of safety”
Includes health of "sensitive" populations such as people with asthma, children, and older adults.
These standards regulate criteria pollutants and are known as National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).
Health Standards for Criteria Pollutants
Prior to 1990, EPA identified and regulated only a small number of HAPs such as asbestos and benzene.
Changes were made to the Clean Air Act made in 1990 and today, 188 individual chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health effects are listed as HAPs.
EPA has issued rules covering over 80 categories of major industrial sources to reduce annual air toxics emissions.
EPA requires the use of reformulated gasoline and placing limits on tailpipe emissions to reduce HAP emissions from mobile sources.
Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP)
NAAQS have been established for six principal air pollutants, also called the criteria pollutants: Oxides of Nitrogen (NO2), Ozone (O3), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Particulate Matter (PM), Carbon Monoxide (CO), and Lead (Pb)
Criteria Pollutants
Comparison of Growth Areas and Emissions
In 2010, 124 Million People Lived in US Counties Exceeding NAAQS
Formation of Criteria Air Pollutants
CO, SO2, and NOX (From the Stack or Pipe) Directly emitted to the atmosphere from anthropogenic
sources; mostly products of combustion. Ozone, O3 (Reaction of End of Pipe Emissions)
Formed in the atmosphere through the reaction of NOX and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) in the presence of sunlight.
Particulate Matter, PM (Form Both Ways) Made up of a number of components, including acids (such as
nitrates and sulfates), organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles. Can be directly emitted or formed in the atmosphere from other chemicals such as SO2 and NOX.
Fine PM is < 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5) Coarse PM is < 10 microns in diameter (PM10)
The size of particles is directly linked to their potential for causing health problems. EPA is concerned about particles that are 10 micrometers in diameter or smaller because those are the particles that generally pass through the throat and nose and enter the lungs. Once inhaled, these particles can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects. EPA groups particle pollution into two categories: Coarse Particulate less than 10 microns in size
(generally found near roadway and dusty industries.
Fine Particulate less than 2.5 microns in size (smoke or haze, or when gases from combustion sources react in air)
Particulate Matter
Particulate Matter
PM is made up of hundreds of different chemicals. Primary Particles are emitted directly from a source,
such as construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks or fires.
Secondary Particles form in complicated reactions in the atmosphere of chemicals such as sulfur dioxides and nitrogen oxides Emitted from power plants, industries and automobiles. Make up most of the fine particle pollution in the country.
Fine particles can remain suspended in the air and travel long distances across regions in the country.
Source of Particulate Matter (PM)
Particle pollution, especially fine particles, are linked to a series of significant health problems: increased respiratory symptoms, such as
irritation of the airways, coughing, or difficulty breathing, for example;
decreased lung function; aggravated asthma; development of chronic bronchitis; irregular heartbeat; nonfatal heart attacks; and premature death in people with heart or lung
disease.
PM Adverse Health Effects
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children and infants are among the most susceptible to many air pollutants.
Studies estimate that thousands of elderly people die prematurely each year from exposure to fine particles.
PM Adverse Health Effects
Ozone is not directly emitted but rather formed in the atmosphere by the reaction of VOCs and NOx in the presence of sunlight.
Most abundant in the summer but changing weather patterns contribute to yearly differences in O3 concentrations.
Ozone and the precursor pollutants that cause O3 also can be transported into an area from pollution sources located hundreds of miles upwind.
Ozone (O3)
Ozone (O3)
Health Effects of Ozone
About 25 million people, including 7 million children, have asthma and over 12 million people report having an asthma attack in the past year.
Breathing ozone can trigger a variety of health problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion. It can worsen bronchitis, emphysema, and asthma.
Ground level ozone also can reduce lung function and inflame the linings of the lungs. Repeated exposure may permanently scar lung tissue.
Federal Air Quality Regulations
1990 Clean Air Act Title I: Air Pollution Prevention and
Control Title II: Emission Standards for
Moving Sources Title III: General (Air Quality
Monitoring) Title IV: Acid Rain Title V: Operating Permit Title VI: Stratospheric Ozone
Protection
Iowa Air Quality Regulations
Iowa Administrative Code (567 IAC Ch 20-39) Establishes how the state will adopt and
implement federal and state air quality rules
The IAC Air Quality Regulations are reviewed and “Federally Approved” by EPA as part of the State Implementation Plan (SIP).
The SIP is the basis for describing how the state will attain and maintain the NAAQS.
455B.144 Local control program. 1. Any political subdivision may conduct an
air pollution control program within the boundaries of its jurisdiction, or may jointly conduct an air pollution control program with other political subdivisions of this state or of other states, except that every joint program shall be established and administered as provided in chapter 28E. In conducting such programs, political subdivisions may adopt and enforce rules or standards to secure and maintain adequate air quality within their respective jurisdictions.
Local Air Quality Programs
2. If the board of supervisors in any county establishes an air pollution control program and has obtained a certificate of acceptance, the agency implementing the program may regulate air pollution within the county including any incorporated areas therein until such incorporated areas obtain a certificate of acceptance as a joint or separate agency.
[C71, §136B.14; C73, 75, 77, 79, 81, §455B.23] C83, §455B.144
Local Air Quality Programs
Implementing Clean Air Act
EPA must review the NAAQS every five years to endure that they are protective of human health. Acts on the advice of the Clean Air Science
Advisory Board who reviews the most recent medical and scientific data.
Develops rules to implement Clean Air Act. EPA is still promulgating initial rules for
elements of the 1990 Clean Air Act. Often in response to court decisions
Consent orders for rule not-promulgated. Rewriting rules that were overturned.
Benefits of the Clean Air Act
In March 2011, EPA issued the Second Prospective Report which looked at the results of the Clean Air Act from 1990 to 2020 The direct benefits from the 1990 Clean Air
Act Amendments are estimated to reach almost $2 trillion by 2020.
The direct costs of implementation will be $65 billion.
Benefits of the Clean Air Act Cases through
Year 2010Projected Cases
through Year 2020
Adult Mortality - particles 160,000 230,000
Infant Mortality - particles 230 280
Mortality - ozone 4300 7100
Chronic Bronchitis 54,000 75,000
Heart Disease - Acute Myocardial Infarction
130,000 200,000
Asthma Exacerbation 1,700,000 2,400,000
Emergency Room Visits 86,000 120,000
School Loss Days 3,200,000 5,400,000
Lost Work Days 13,000,000 17,000,000
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
Pollutant Primary/Averaging Time Level Form
Secondary
Carbon Monoxideprimary
8-hour 9 ppm Not to be exceeded more than once per year1-hour 35 ppm
Lead primary and Rolling 3 month average
0.15 μg/m3
Not to be exceeded secondary
Nitrogen Dioxideprimary 1-hour 100 ppb
98th percentile, averaged over 3 years
primary and secondary
Annual 53 ppb Annual Mean
Ozone primary and8-hour
0.075 ppm
Annual fourth-highest daily maximum 8-hr concentration, averaged over 3 yearssecondary
Particle PollutionPM2.5
primary and Annual15 μg/m3
annual mean, averaged over 3 years
secondary 24-hour35 μg/m3
98th percentile, averaged over 3 years
PM10
primary and24-hour
150 μg/m3
Not to be exceeded more than once per year on average over 3 yearssecondary
Sulfur Dioxideprimary 1-hour 75 ppb
99th percentile of 1-hour daily maximum concentrations, averaged over 3 years
secondary 3-hour 0.5 ppm Not to be exceeded more than once per year
Excess Cancer Risks, Aldehydes
Risk of 1 per 1 million people
Excess Cancer Risks, Benzene
Risk of 1 per 1 million people
The Air Quality Index (AQI) is an index for reporting daily air quality. The AQI tells how clean or polluted the outdoor air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern.
AQI data can be found on EPA’s AirNow website at www.airnow.gov
Air Quality Index (AQI)
Reduce prolonged or heavy exertion. Prolonged exertion is an activity that occurs
over several hours and causes a person to breathe slightly harder than normal.
Cut back on more intense activities that require a person to breathe hard.
Breathing rate is a guide for how hard a person exerts themselves.
Avoiding Exposure to Harmful Pollutants
http://www.shl.uiowa.edu/services/ambient/airnow.xml
http://www.shl.uiowa.edu/services/ambient/historicalaqi.xml
Air Quality Advisory for Muscatine
County
Resources
Iowa DNRAir Quality Bureau7900 Hickman Rd., Suite 1Windsor Heights, IA 50324 515-242-5100
Sean Fitzsimmons Unit Leader: Ambient Air Monitoring515-281-8923 [email protected]
Internet Resources www.epa.gov/airtren
ds www.airnow.gov www.iowadnr.com/air
/ www.shl.uiowa.edu/s
ervices/ambient
www.air.linn.ia.us
James Hodina, QEP MSLinn County Public Health
501 13th Street NWCedar Rapids, Iowa 502405
www.linncleanair.org
Contact Information