Understanding and Communicating Ambient Air Quality in Iowa

1. Understanding and Communicating Ambient Air Quality in Iowa James Hodina, MS QEP Manager, Environmental Public Health Linn County Public Health

2. Regulated Air Pollutants • EPA regulates two sets of air pollutants • Criteria Pollutants • Hazardous Air Pollutants

3. Health Standards for Criteria 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).

4. Hazardous Air Pollutant (HAP) 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.

5. Criteria Pollutants • 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)

6. Comparison of Growth Areas and Emissions

7. In 2010, 124 Million People Lived in US Counties Exceeding NAAQS

8. 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)

9. Particulate Matter • 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)

10. Particulate Matter

11. Source of Particulate Matter (PM) • 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.

12. PM Adverse Health Effects • 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.

13. 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.

14. Ozone (O3) 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.

15. Ozone (O3)

16. 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.

17. 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

18. 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.

19. Local Air Quality Programs 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.

20. 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

21. 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.

22. 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. 

23. Benefits of the Clean Air Act

24. National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)

29. Excess Cancer Risks, Aldehydes Risk of 1 per 1 million people

30. Excess Cancer Risks, Benzene Risk of 1 per 1 million people

31. Air Quality Index (AQI) 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

33. Avoiding Exposure to Harmful Pollutants 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.

36. http://www.shl.uiowa.edu/services/ambient/airnow.xml

37. http://www.shl.uiowa.edu/services/ambient/historicalaqi.xml

38. Air Quality Advisory for Muscatine County

39. Resources • Iowa DNR Air Quality Bureau 7900 Hickman Rd., Suite 1Windsor Heights, IA 50324 515-242-5100 • Sean Fitzsimmons Unit Leader: Ambient Air Monitoring515-281-8923 Sean.Fitzsimmons@dnr.iowa.gov • Internet Resources • www.epa.gov/airtrends • www.airnow.gov • www.iowadnr.com/air/ • www.shl.uiowa.edu/services/ambient • www.air.linn.ia.us

40. Contact Information James Hodina, QEP MS Linn County Public Health 501 13th Street NW Cedar Rapids, Iowa 502405 james.hodina@linncounty.org 319-892-6010 www.linncleanair.org