Two reports released today further add to the mountain of evidence that air quality is poor in Alabama’s largest city.
“The question is what, and when, is the Alabama Department of Environmental Management going to do about excessive air toxic pollution?” according to the press release from the Conservation Alabama Foundation.
“Our report in December found that of 15 air toxics we studied, 13 of which are linked to cancer, Alabama’s children and adults are exposed to these chemicals far beyond the maximum safe limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency,” said Adam Snyder, executive director of the Conservation Alabama Foundation. “The reports released today re-emphasize the need for ADEM to address this problem and find a solution that will protect human health.”
Using modeling data, the Justice in the Air report ranks the Birmingham-Hoover MSA first for disproportionate impacts of air pollution on both minorities and low-income citizens. Also, the “State of the Air” report published by the American Lung Association ranks the Birmingham-Hoover MSA fifth in the country for both short-term and year-round particle air pollution, and 20th in the nation for ozone pollution.
These are the fourth and fifth reports released over the last few months regarding air quality. USA Today released a report in December about air toxics in our schools, followed by the Foundation’s report a week later. A few weeks ago, the Jefferson County Health Department released their air study. All the reports show citizens in Birmingham are exposed to an excessive amount of air toxics.
“ADEM needs to change its permitting practices so that air pollution permits protect human health,” said David Ludder, author of the Foundation’s December report. “Ultimately, ADEM needs to establish more monitoring stations and collect more data to better define the geographical extent of the health risk and the magnitude of the health risk allowed by ADEM’s current regulations,”
The foundation’s report is available online at conservationalabamafoundation.org and at the Law Office of David A. Ludder’s Website: enviro-lawyer.com.
For more information, check out the following links:
USA Today’s Toxic Air and America’s Schools
Toxic Air Pollution in Alabama – A Threat to Human Health
Birmingham Air Toxics Study (February 2009)
© 2009, Glynn Wilson. All rights reserved. The Locust Fork News-Journal, LocustFork.Net
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An even better solution would be to scrap administrative licensing of pollution by federal agencies and returning to the rule of common law.
Under that standard, suits could be brought by individuals or through class actions and all offending pollution brought to a halt through decisions of local juries and the resulting permanent court injunctions.
Administrative law now in place allows pollution within EPA and other federal agency regulations. This breeds corruption, needless to say, and horror stories like this one. Clear, rational and strict standards, enforced through the common law process of judges and juries, will literally clean up this mess.
The delusion that administrative law will do so should, after three decades or more, be apparent. But, there are many vested interests – the industries, the environmental issue-preneurs, the bureaucrats – who prefer things the way they are now.
PS – If you wonder about who issue-preneurs are, how they live, and what they do, here’s a great link to visit:
http://www.wheremostneeded.org/issuepreneurs/
I think you will find that some environmental groups are about to formally ask the Obama EPA to take over enforcing permit violations in Alabama, since ADEM is obviously derelict in doing the job. We will carry the story soon…
I’m glad this is getting attention – again, but after years of living with the problem… in a city/county that give very little priority to the issue of pollution I have become completely disillusioned with the players. We live in close proximity to what is considered a minor pollution source and even though I have been at the heart of dozens of complaints there seems to be very little will on the part of government to fix anything. The industries get to pick and choose what they do and how they interact with communities. I hope this news puts the added pressure that is needed for REAL CHANGE.
Don’t hold your breath for local or state level officials to do anything. It will be up to the feds…