Dangerous air pollution has reared its ugly head yet again here in the Denver metro region, putting the health of our community at risk.
Fine-particle pollution is microscopic, less than 2.5 microns in diameter, or 1/30th the width of a human hair. When breathed in, these particles reach our lungs, the most fragile of all our organs, and can even be absorbed into our bloodstream. Unlike coarse particles, which come from dust and dirt, fine particles come from smokestacks and tailpipes. When fossil fuels are burned, especially coal, microscopic soot, metals and acidic droplets are released. When breathed in, the tiny particles can damage the lungs of a person who does not have lung disease. Imagine the devastation to the lungs of a person living with asthma or emphysema?
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fine-particle pollution is linked to thousands of premature deaths every year. Recent studies have also linked fine-particle pollution to heart disease, lung disease, asthma and poor lung function among children. People living with lung disease, children and the elderly are most vulnerable.
For nine days straight – Feb. 7 through Feb. 15 – air quality monitors in the Denver metro region recorded unprecedented levels of fine-particle pollution. The pollution was so bad that federal health standards were exceeded. Health standards for fine-particle pollution were first adopted in 1997. Until Feb. 7, they had not been exceeded.
Beginning that day, fine-particle pollution soared above health standards at monitors at Chatfield Reservoir, downtown Denver, National Jewish Hospital and in Boulder. By Feb. 12, pollution in Greeley even climbed to unsafe levels. In total, health standards were exceeded 18 times at five different monitors, from Douglas County north to Greeley, and at places in between.
This extended stretch of dangerous air pollution prompted daily health alerts from the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division. The alerts advised children to stay indoors to avoid breathing in the dirty air.
Federal health standards limit fine-particle pollution to no more than 35 micrograms per cubic meter, based on hourly measurements averaged over a 24-hour period. Alarmingly, pollution levels reached 74 micrograms per cubic meter in down Denver on Feb. 9, twice as high as the legal limit.
If we were speeding, we’d be in a heap of trouble right now.
Under the federal Clean Air Act, the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division was required to adopt safeguards by 2000 to keep fine-particle pollution in check. Since that time, no safeguards have been adopted. Right now, Colorado regulations do not limit fine-particle pollution at all. Coal-burning power plants in the metro region, for example, are not required to limit their fine-particle pollution.
The result? Fine-particle pollution has been left unchecked and we’ve been breathing some of the most dangerous air pollution experienced in recent times.
The Air Pollution Control Division says that we have not formally violated fine-particle pollution standards. For a violation to occur, they say, we need three years of data. Until a violation occurs, the Air Pollution Control Division has no plans to adopt safeguards, even though they’re six years overdue. We’re optimistic that with a new state administration, these issues may be addressed – but we need to move quickly.
Colorado can ill-afford one day of unhealthy pollution, let alone seven. With so much at stake, the state needs to move forward and finally adopt the safeguards we need to stay happy, healthy and safe.
Jeremy Nichols is director of Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action and Curt Huber is executive director of the American Lung Association of Colorado.
