December 17, 2004
Contact: Arthur Stamoulis
(215) 567-4004 x222

EPA Says 22 Pennsylvania Counties Not Meeting Air Quality Standards for Soot
Recent Bush Administration Moves Will Harm Cleanup

Philadelphia, PA — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that 22 counties in Pennsylvania contribute to, or exceed, national health standards for fine particulate matter, or “soot” pollution—a deadly air pollutant that causes respiratory and cardiovascular problems, including asthma attacks, lung cancer, heart attacks, and premature death.

EPA set the national health standard for soot in 1997, but for the first time today identified the parts of the country that have unsafe levels of fine particles. Legally, EPA’s action today “designated” these counties in “nonattainment,” which means that, under the Clean Air Act, the state is required to implement planning and air pollution controls in these areas to reduce air pollution to safe levels.

“These designations are serious business. EPA is telling us that our air is unhealthy to breathe and that it needs to be cleaned up,” said Arthur Stamoulis, Policy Analyst for Clean Air Council, a statewide environmental organization. “This is an important first step towards cleaning up one of the state’s biggest pollution problems—the old, dirty, coal-fired power plants that pump out these pollutants at ridiculous rates.”

Coal-fired power plants are the largest source of soot pollution in Pennsylvania. Nationally, soot from power plants cuts short nearly 24,000 lives, including 2,800 from lung cancer, and causes 38,200 heart attacks each year, according to a 2004 report by Clear the Air. In Pennsylvania, soot from power plants cuts short an estimated 1,825 lives, including nearly 200 from lung cancer, and causes an estimated 3,300 heart attacks each year, according to the report.

“EPA’s designations are coming the same week that the Bush administration announced that it is delaying implementation of the ‘Clean Air Interstate Rule’ that would help clean up air pollution from power plants,” said Stamoulis. “EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt had promised again and again that this rule would be finalized by the end of this year.”

Earlier in the week, the White House announced it was delaying the Clean Air Interstate Rule until March 2005 pending the outcome of its proposed “Clear Skies” legislation in Congress. Clear Skies has not yet been re-introduced in Congress, but past version of the bills repealed Clean Air Act requirements that the oldest and dirtiest power plants eventually install state-of-the-art pollution controls. They also weakened Clean Air Act requirements for reducing mercury emissions from power plants and for controlling haze in national parks.

“The so-called Clear Skies bill is a terrible piece of legislation. Delaying real cleanup measures in order to give this bill another chance is a mistake that’s hurting public health in Pennsylvania,” said Stamoulis. “Pennsylvanians should not have to wait around for healthy air.”

EPA has designated the following counties in nonattainment: Cumberland, Dauphin and Lebanon in the Harrisburg area; Cambria and Indiana in the Johnstown area; Lancaster in the Lancaster area; Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia in the Philadelphia area; Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Greene, Lawrence, Washington and Westmoreland in the Pittsburgh area; Berks in the Reading area; York in the York area; and Mercer in the Youngstown, OH area.

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