Public Health Groups Sue EPA Over Carbon Monoxide Standards

For Immediate Release:
July 17, 2007

For More Information Contact:
Philip Huang, Communities for a Better Environment, (510) 302-0430 x17
Jeremy Nichols, Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action, (303) 454-3370
Jesse Marquez, Coalition for a Safe Environment, (310) 834-1128, (310) 704-1265 (cell)
Martha Dina Arguello, Physicians for Social Responsibility-L.A., (310) 261-0073

San Francisco—Acting to keep children safe, public health groups today filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its failure to update nationwide air quality standards for carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide is lethal at high levels and at lower levels is linked to low birth weights and other serious health problems.

“We all need the strongest protection possible from this poisonous gas,” said Jeremy Nichols, Director of Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action. “Sadly, current health standards allow our children to be exposed to dangerous levels of carbon monoxide across the country. The Bush Administration needs to stop dragging its feet and starting protecting children’s health.”

Over 70% of all carbon monoxide comes from the burning of fossil fuels and is spewed by smokestacks and tailpipes. Carbon monoxide pollution contributes to cardiovascular, nervous system, and developmental problems. It also reacts with sunlight to form smog and contributes to climate change.

Carbon monoxide air quality standards were last revised in 1971, over 35 years ago. Since then, numerous studies have found these standards to be woefully inadequate. Recent studies have found that carbon monoxide levels at 1.4 parts per million over a three month period, or trimester, are harmful to developing fetuses, yet current standards allow carbon monoxide to reach as high as 9 parts per million over an 8-hour period. No standards currently exist to limit long-term exposure to carbon monoxide at any level.

The EPA has established National Ambient Air Quality Standards for carbon monoxide. Under the Clean Air Act, our nation’s safeguard against air pollution, these standards must protect human health and welfare. They must also be reviewed every five years to determine if they need to be strengthened. The EPA has not completed a review of the 35 year old carbon monoxide standards since August 1994, nearly 13 years ago.

“The evidence is both alarming and clear, so there is no excuse for delaying action,” said Philip Huang with Communities for a Better Environment. “Poor people and people of color suffer most from carbon monoxide, which is spewed by the refineries and power plants located in our communities, as well as the congested highways in our backyards.”

The EPA’s failure to strengthen carbon monoxide standards is a danger to public health. For example:

• A 2001 study found a correlation between elevated levels of carbon monoxide and low birth weight (Mildred Maisonet, et al., "Relation Between Ambient Air Pollution and Low Birth Weight in the Northeastern United States," Environmental Health Perspectives Vol. 109, Supp. 3, pp. 351-356, 353 (June 2001). The study found that carbon monoxide levels greater than 1.4 parts per million lead to an increased risk of low birth weight among infants;

• A 2005 study of births from 1975 to 1987 found a correlation between decreased birth weight and carbon monoxide exposure (Muhammad T. Salam, et al., "Birth Outcomes and Prenatal Exposure to Ozone, Carbon Monoxide and Particulate Matter: Results from the Children's Health Study," 113 Environmental Health Perspectives 1638, 1641 (Nov. 2005). This study also found a correlation between low birth weight and carbon monoxide exposure at ambient levels greater than 1.4 parts per million.

Low birth weight is a significant health problem contributing to infant mortality and long-term developmental problems. The percentage of infants with low birth weights (under 5.5 pounds) has increased by 16% both in California and nationwide since 1990. There is also a racial component: in California, African American babies are twice as likely to suffer from low birth weights as whites. These alarming trends are exacerbated by persistent and unacceptable levels of CO in the atmosphere.

“Our health standards need to catch up with our health science,” said Jesse Marquez with the Coalition for a Safe Environment. “Right now, carbon monoxide standards are as outdated as the 8-track player; they need to be updated and strengthened to protect our children, our communities, and our environment.”

Under the Clean Air Act, citizens can hold the EPA accountable to clean air and public health by filing suit in federal court. Public health groups today filed suit in federal court in San Francisco to compel the EPA to review and strengthen National Ambient Air Quality Standards for carbon monoxide.

The groups joining the lawsuit to strengthen carbon monoxide standards include Communities for a Better Environment (Oakland, CA), Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action (Denver, CO), Coalition for a Safe Environment (Wilmington, CA), and Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles. The lawsuit can be downloaded online at http://www.ourcleanair.org/uploads/CO_lawsuit.pdf.

More Information on Carbon Monoxide Ambient Air Quality Standards:

• Primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards are established to ensure protection of human health. Primary ambient air quality standards for carbon monoxide are set at an 8-hour average of 9 parts per million and a 1-hour average of 35 parts per million;

• These carbon monoxide standards were first adopted in 1971;

• Two sections of the Clean Air Act govern the establishment and revision of air quality standards. Section 108 (42 U.S.C. § 7408) requires the Environmental Protection Agency to identify pollutants that “may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health and welfare” and to issue air quality criteria for those pollutants. Section 109 (42 U.S.C. § 7409) requires the EPA to promulgate primary and secondary ambient air quality standards for pollutants identified under section 108. Primary standards must be sufficient to protect the public health, while secondary standards must safeguard the public welfare. 42 U.S.C. § 7409(b).

• Section 109 further requires that “at five year intervals” the EPA “shall complete a thorough review of the criteria published under [section 108] and the national ambient air quality standards promulgated under this section and shall make such revisions in such criteria and standards and promulgate such new standards as may be appropriate.” 42 U.S.C. § 7409(d)(1). Despite this clear requirement, it has been nearly seven years since EPA last completed such a review to update the air quality criteria and NAAQS for carbon monoxide.

• Under the Clean Air Act, citizens have the right to file suit against the Environmental Protection Agency to enforce deadlines and protect clean air.

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