Rob Cooper
EH 2000
Spring 2017
Air Quality
Although regulation on air quality seems like a necessary
part of our environmental protection, legislation wasn’t passed to protect us
from air pollution in the United States until 1971. The current reliability of
the Environmental Protection Agency is up for debate, however they made great
strides pushing for higher standards of air quality from the 1970s onward.
Before this, smog and carcinogenic particles were very common, especially in
cities with heavy industry. In some cases, the level of pollution would cause
cold air to sink to ground level while hot air floats above. This would allow
the pollution to be trapped at ground level and kill anyone exposed for long
enough. Since those days, the EPA has created several standards and released
many statements regarding air pollution.
The EPA has created an Air Quality Index with six levels of
concern to be viewed by the public. The scale ranges from zero to 500. Zero to
fifty is considered “Good”. 51 to 100 is known as “Moderate”. 101 to 150 is
shown as “Unhealthy for sensitive groups” such as asthmatics or the elderly.
151 to 200 is considered “Unhealthy” for all. 200 to 300 is “Very unhealthy”.
Finally, 301 to 500 is known as “Hazardous”
In addition to the Air Quality index, the EPA provides a
score for most cities and a forecast for their near future. At the moment, the
AQI for Cincinnati is 52. In Cleveland, the index is at 46. Columbus is doing
slightly better with an AQI score of 40. Dayton has a score of 50. Lastly,
Dayton has the best air quality of the day with a score of 31. Of all these
readings, only Cincinnati has a score which is less that “Good” and that is
just barely. Other states such as California have scores that regularly go near
or above 100.
Put simply, a State Implementation plan, or an SIP, is a
framework which would allow a certain state to meet air quality goals set by
the EPA over the course of several years. These plans may be changed over time
if the regulations set by the EPA happen to change, or if the state meets the
SIP’s requirements and desires to simply maintain their air quality.
Another list the EPA maintains is the NAAQS or National Ambient
Air Quality Standards. These standards represent the maximum allowable level of
pollutants in the air. The pollutants listed range from gases such as Nitrogen
dioxide, Carbon monoxide, Sulfur dioxide; to particulate matter and heavy
metals such as lead.
In Ohio, there are exact limits on these pollutants. For
Ozone, the maximum concentration is 0.075 parts per million. The limit on
particulate matter 2.5 is twelve micrograms per cubic meter. For sulfur
dioxide, the maximum allowable is 75 parts per billion. Nitrogen dioxide is
only allowed to reach levels of 0.053 parts per million. Lastly, lead, which
has disastrous effects on neurological function must be kept below 0.15 parts
per cubic meter.
In conclusion, the Environmental Protection Agency has
created several standards for our Air quality which have allowed us to enjoy at
least a moderately more healthy breathing atmosphere.
