Saving Denver from Air Pollution
While the Denver Department of Environmental Health is giving lip service to protecting citizens from air pollution, Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action is actually doing something about it.
Today, we moved to make sure that vehicle tailpipe testing here in the Denver metro area fully protects our health. Air pollution from vehicle tailpipes contributes to smog, microscopic particulate pollution, and carbon monoxide, key threats to neighborhoods throughout Denver.
The Colorado Air Pollution Control Division is proposing to overhaul its tailpipe testing program, yet there is little information showing that our health will be protected. The Division wants to scrap in-house tailpipe testing and instead rely on remote sensing. Remote sensing is where trucks stationed on highway on-ramps test your emissions. Many have probably driven past these stations already.
The state's proposal is a good idea, but there's some serious kinks in the details.
Right now, we have no safeguards in place to protect us from microscopic particulate pollution caused by tailpipes. The proposed overhaul does nothing to protect us from this dangerous air pollution.
Adding to this, scientists and physicians now say that when smog concentrations reach 60 parts per billion or more over an 8-hour period, our health is at risk. Right now, federal health standards limit smog to only 80 parts per billion over an 8-hour period. The proposed overhaul does not ensure our health is protected based on the latest health science.
Hopefully we can get a more convenient tailpipe testing program and fully protect our health.
posted by Jeremy Nichols @ 9:10 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
Speaking of lip service. At the December 2006 meeting of the Air Quality Control Commission there was a proposal to weaken the remote sensing program, which could result in increased emissions of VOCs and subsequent ozone non-attainment. I saw a representative from Denver make public comments against weakening the I&M program. However, I failed to hear RMCAA speak out on this important air quality issue.
Anonymous has a really good point. RMCAA didn't speak out against the overhaul of the tailpipe testing program back in December.
Fortunately the Air Quality Control Commission made the right move and scrapped the overhaul, http://denverozone.blogspot.com/2006/12/commission-makes-right-move-on.html.
In the meantime, RMCAA is working to make sure new changes to Denver's tailpipe testing program protect us from smog and microscopic particulate pollution, http://rmcleanair.blogspot.com/2007/04/saving-denver-from-air-pollution.html.
For our health, tailpipe pollution needs to be kept in check. Hopefully we'll succeed.
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