Last week, Chris Cocca of the Air Quality Partnership joined Rep. Steve Samuelson and PennEnvironment for a press conference at the Lehigh County Government Center addressing this issue. PennEnvironment’s release, with quotes from Cocca and Samuelson:

Allentown, Pennsylvania: Today PennEnvironment released a new report showing that the Allentown metropolitan area was the 13th smoggiest in the nation of similarly sized municipalities. Smog is a harmful air pollutant that leads to asthma attacks and exacerbates respiratory illnesses, especially among children and the elderly. The new report, Danger in the Air: Unhealthy Air Days in 2010 and 2011, also found that there were 35 days in 2010 in Pennsylvania when at least part of the state experienced smog levels exceeding the national health standard, making it the sixth smoggiest state in the nation. Also, this summer, residents in the Allentown area have already been alerted to unhealthy air on 12 days.

“Pennsylvanians deserve clean air. But on far too many days, people in the Allentown area are exposed to dangerous smog pollution,” said Meredith Meisenheimer, Preservation Associate for PennEnvironment. “For the sake of our children, we must make every day a safe day to breathe.”

The new report ranks cities in Pennsylvania and across the country for the number of days when the air was unhealthy to breathe due to smog pollution last year and this summer, and includes new data showing that the problem is even worse than the public thought. Overall, seven metropolitan areas in Pennsylvania are among the top 30 smoggiest large and mid-sized metropolitan areas in the country.

The research shows that on 9 additional days last year, residents in the Allentown area were exposed to smog levels that a national scientific panel has found to be dangerous to breathe, but because of outdated federal air quality rules, those at risk were never alerted to unhealthy air levels.

PA Rep. Steve Samuelson and Chris Cocca with the Air Quality Partnership of Lehigh Valley-Berks joined PennEnvironment in releasing today’s report in the Lehigh County Government Building in downtown Allentown.

Smog is one of the most harmful air pollutants, and is also one of the most pervasive. Smog is formed when pollution from cars, power plants, and industrial facilities reacts with other pollutants in the presence of sunlight. Smog is of particular concern in the summer months when warmer temperatures lead to the build-up of higher concentrations of smog pollution.

On days with elevated levels of smog pollution, children, the elderly, and people with respiratory illness suffer the most. Children who grow up in areas with high levels of smog may develop diminished lung capacity, putting them at greater risk of lung disease later in life.

Cocca said, “Because of smog pollution, too many Pennsylvanians are breathing air that makes us sick. Three groups that we, as a Commonwealth, should be in the business of protecting, the very young, the elderly, and those of us with congential respiratory problems, are at even greater risk. All Pennsylvanians deserve clean air, and should demand it.”

Gas and oil drilling activities in Pennsylvania and across the country also contribute significantly to smog pollution in our cities. Each year, oil and gas industry activities emit more than 2.2 million tons of smog-forming volatile organic compounds (VOCs) nationwide. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed rules that would cut this pollution by one-quarter, along with other harmful emissions, helping relieve the unhealthy air days plaguing Pennsylvania according to the report. The agency’s public comment period on this proposed rule will end on October 24th.

Additionally, children exposed to smog in the womb can experience lower birth weight and growth retardation. Even among healthy adults, repeated exposure to smog pollution over time permanently damages lung tissues, decreases the ability to breathe normally, exacerbates chronic diseases like asthma, and can even cause premature death.

Under the federal Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency is required to set a national standard for smog pollution according to the latest science on air quality and public health. However, the current standard was set at a level that EPA’s own board of independent scientists agrees is not adequately protective of public health. The Obama administration considered updating the standard this year to protect public health, but the president decided earlier this month to abandon this effort until 2013. PennEnvironment and prominent public health groups expressed deep disappointment with his decision.

“For too long, smog pollution has left our children gasping for breath,” said Meisenheimer. “Unfortunately, rather than acting decisively to protect our kids from dangerous air pollution, President Obama chose to kick the can dow

Allentown, Pa — With kids getting out of K-12 schools and July 4th weekend fast approaching, many families are thinking about how high gas prices will impact their summer travel plans. A new PennEnvironment report finds that more fuel efficient cars would save every Pennsylvanian family an average of $452 at the gas pump this summer alone. The report was released as the Obama administration is developing new fuel efficiency and global warming pollution standards for cars and light trucks.

“Pennsylvanians shouldn’t have to spend their summers worrying about how they will afford to drive, let alone whether their children are breathing air pollution, and whether their beaches are safe from oil spills. President Obama should take a bold step to solve all of these problems and put cleaner cars in the fast lane,” said Megan Fitzpatrick, Federal Field Associate at PennEnvironment.

This report shows that by helping consumers burn less oil, cleaner cars would mean we burn less cash too, saving Pennsylvanians $2.5 billion over the summer. “Not only could you afford that roadtrip to the beach, but you could book a hotel and stick around for a week with the money you’ve saved.”

Based on current gas prices, Pennsylvanians are expected to spend more than $4.8 billion at the gas pump over the course of the summer.  Since no relief is in sight for the price of gas and our oil consumption continues to have dire consequences for our health and environment as well, PennEnvironment pointed to reducing our dependence on oil as the only viable solution.

PennEnvironment was joined by Commissioner Percy Dougherty and Chris Cocca from the Air Quality Partnership of Lehigh Valley – Berks in releasing today’s report.

“In these tough economic times, it is my firm belief that we must do as much as we can to rid ourselves of foreign supplies of oil,” said Commissioner Dougherty. “By increasing fuel efficiency and supporting cleaner cars, we can do that.”

Requiring cars and trucks to meet a 60 mpg standard would be a major step toward getting off oil and decreasing pollution, reducing Pennsylvania’s oil consumption over the summer by 630 million gallons and reducing dangerous carbon dioxide pollution by nearly 6 million metric tons.

“Dirty emissions from single-passenger cars are the major contributor to the air quality crisis our region faces.  A truly clean commuter fleet is something we support, and we need President Obama to go forward with making clean cars a reality. Until then, do your part now by using public transit and sharing the ride,” said Cocca, Outreach Coordinator for the Air Quality Partnership of Lehigh Valley-Berks.

Last year, recognizing the benefits of increasing fuel efficiency and decreasing our oil dependence, the Obama administration set standards for new cars and trucks built between 2012 and 2016 that will save billions of gallons of fuel.

Today, PennEnvironment called on President Obama to take the next step and move clean cars into the fast lane by making 60 miles per gallon cars the norm and not the exception to the rule.

“This summer, we should remember that clean cars could make our fun in the sun all that much better, creating huge benefits for Pennsylvania’s families, our economy and our environment,” said Fitzpatrick.  “We need the Obama administration to push ahead with the clean car standards that will make these benefits a reality.”

PennEnvironment is a statewide, citizen-funded environmental advocacy group that works
for a cleaner, greener future.