New Report: Houston Ranks Sixth Smoggiest Large Metropolitan Area in the Country

HOUSTON- Today Environment Texas released a new report showing that Houston ranks the sixth smoggiest large metropolitan areas across the country. 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 27 days in 2010 in Houston when smog levels exceeded the national health standard. This summer, residents in the Houston area have already been alerted to unhealthy air on 36 days (17 mentioned in the report before August 21, 2011 and TCEQ data shows 19 days after August 21,2011). 

“Texans deserve clean air.  But on far too many days, people in the Houston area are exposed to dangerous smog pollution,” said Tessa McClellan, Environment Texas Field Associate. “For the sake of our children, we must make every day a safe day to breathe.”

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area were exposed to smog levels that a national scientific panel has found to be dangerous to breathe, but because of outdated federal air quality rules, those at risk were never alerted to unhealthy air levels. 

Houston City Council Member Ed Gonzalez and Matthew Tejada, Executive Director of Air Alliance Houston, joined Environment Texas in releasing today’s report near the John P. McGovern Playground in the Discovery Green Park in downtown Houston.

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. 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. 

“We must continue to do everything in our power to ensure clean air for our families, neighbors, and friends,” said City Council Member Ed Gonzalez. 

 Matthew Tejada, Executive Director of Air Alliance Houston, also commented on the importance of continuing to push for stronger standards for smog pollution to protect public health. 

“It is inarguable that Houston today has lower ozone levels than it did ten and twenty years ago.  But what this report details so well is that cleaner air does not equal clean air,” Tejada said. “In fact, we still have a long way to go before the Houston region attains ozone standards which are ten and twenty years old, and a much greater amount of work to do once the EPA sets a new ozone standard.”

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 agree 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.  Environment Texas and prominent public health groups expressed deep disappointment with his decision. The release of this report also came the day before the Texas House State Affairs committee will hold a hearing on the Environmental Protection Agency’s rules, including the Cross State Air Pollution Rule, which requires reductions of smog pollution from power plants. This rule will save between 670 and 1700 lives in Texas per year. 

“For too long, smog pollution has left our children gasping for breath,” said McClellan. “Unfortunately, rather than acting decisively to protect our kids from dangerous air pollution, President Obama chose to kick the can down the road.  Texas’ kids, senior citizens and those suffering from respiratory problems will suffer as a consequence and certainly deserve better.”

Environment Texas called on the president to protect the health of Texas’ children and seniors, and to establish an updated standard for smog pollution that is based on the science. A strong standard could save up to 12,000 lives and prevent up to 58,000 asthma attacks each year. At the same time, polluters and their allies in the House of Representatives are threatening to make the problem even worse by pushing a bill this week- the TRAIN Act (H.R. 2401)- to roll back existing smog pollution standards for power plants.  

“We must make every day a safe day to breathe,” said McClellan. “President Obama and Texas’ members of Congress should stand up for Texans’ health and oppose any attacks to the Clean Air Act.”