By Kathy Stevens
HARRISBURG -- Stepping outside for a deep breath of fresh morning air
might not be such a great idea, especially if you live in south-central
Pennsylvania.
So
say environmentalists who yesterday ranked Pennsylvania's soot level
among the worst in the nation. Cities of Lancaster, York-Hanover,
Harrisburg-Carlisle and Reading ranked fifth, sixth, ninth and 10th,
respectively, in the nation for the worst "fine particle," or soot,
pollution in mid-sized cities in 2004.
The
top four slots were awarded to three California cities -- Bakersfield,
Visalia-Porterville and Fresno -- and Salt Lake City. Rankings stem
from an analysis of air quality of 55 metropolitan areas in 21 states.
PennEnvironment,
which compiled the data titled "Plagued by Pollution," attributes the
state's problem to diesel emissions, mostly from tractor-trailers and
buses, and to power plants. The Philadelphia-based environmental
activist organization calls on local and state lawmakers to implement
regulations that would reduce pollutants and make available funding so
businesses could convert engines or power mechanisms to burn cleaner.
The
American Lung Association of Pennsylvania says people's lives are at
risk because those fine particles floating around are just the right
size to find their way deep into the lung.
Who is harmed? Those most at risk are asthmatics, children and people who have chronic lung diseases such as bronchitis and
emphysema. Those with diabetes and heart disease also are at risk for
earlier death, said Kevin Stewart, director of environmental health of
the American Lung Association of Pennsylvania.
"Even
though this is invisible, we know that it's real," Stewart said about
particulate pollution. "It's real, it causes sickness and can
eventually kill."
State
Department of Environmental Protection officials said the department
already is looking at several measures to improve air quality in
Pennsylvania and to comply with changes last year under the federal
Clean Air Act. Those changes require each state to have a proposal in
place to attain new air quality standards by 2008 and to achieve those
goals by 2010, said Wick Havens, chief of the division of air resource
management for the DEP in Harrisburg.
Havens
said pinning down exactly where pollutants come from isn't an easy
process. He said particulate matter is divided into two groups:
primary, which is emitted directly from combustion and grinding
operations, and secondary particulates, which form in the atmosphere
and account for 50 to 60 percent of the state's pollution problem.The
culprit: Anything that burns fuel. Cars, power plants, trucks, buses,
furnaces, even barbecue grills emit components into the air that unite
with other components to form pollutants.
Power
plants, like Brunner Island in East Manchester Township, and diesel
trucks deliver a "one-two punch" to the area, said Nathan Willcox, a
spokesman for PennEnvironment.
He
said the group focused on efforts with diesel trucks because there's
little at the local level people can do about power plants.
"Unfortunately, it's up to the federal government to clean up the state's coal plants," he said.
New
rules coming: State and federal programs in place to reduce pollutants
won't have much effect overnight. But plans are in the works. A
December 2000 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency regulation set
emission standards on diesel engines, and low sulfur fuel was looked
at. That rule set a cap on sulfur and applies to heavy-duty diesel
vehicles starting in 2007.
The
EPA also has made available grants for retrofitting old engines to make
them burn cleaner. In Pennsylvania, grants have been dispensed to help
reduce the idling time of tractor-trailers. Truckers often leave
engines idling overnight to power heat, computers and lights. But
electrification units installed at truck stops enable truckers to cut
their engines and still enjoy heat in the winter and air conditioning
in the summer inside their tractors.
"It saves energy and reduces costs," Havens said. "We're promoting these across the state at large truck stops."
Gov. Ed Rendell also backs incentives for biodiesel plants in the state for a cleaner form of diesel fuel.
"We're
also in the forefront working with (federal agencies) in getting
interstate rules in place," Ruman said. "There is a feeling that
regardless of what we do, pollution is coming from other places."
-- Reach Kathy Stevens at 505-5437 or kstevens@yorkdispatch.com.
