New Ozone Standard

I know, right, two new posts in one day...but I had to share some important news. Important not just for me, but for everyone who breaths. The EPA announced today a new ozone standard (in fact a tightening of the standard) that it hopes will better protect the health of citizens and the environment.

Ground-level ozone is not emitted directly into the air, but forms when emissions of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) “cook” in the sun. Power plants, motor vehicle exhaust, industrial facilities, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents are the major man-made sources of these emissions.

It will be interesting to see how this change effects things to come. I was fortunate enough to be able to attend just one of five public hearing (in which the EPA received nearly 90,000 written comments) on this issue some months ago in Atlanta, GA.

Not only does this ensure that I will have a job in the years to come, but it also has significance in terms of how transportation planning is conducted, as those areas that will now be designated as nonattainment will need to conform to certain standards/procedures that they didn't have to deal with before the change in the standard. It will also no doubt effect economic development in areas now in nonattainment of the new standard of 0.075 ppm (used to be 0.084).

The EPA estimates that the final standards will yield health benefits valued between $2 billion and $19 billion. Those benefits include preventing cases of bronchitis, asthma, hospital and emergency room visits, heart attacks and premature death, among others. EPA’s analysis also shows that these benefits will likely outweigh the cost of implementing the standards, the cost of which is estimated to range from $7.6 billion to $8.5 billion.

Only time will tell...