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 Clear
The Air - Power Plant Air Pollution Locater What you
don't know about the air you breathe can hurt you. For the first time, the Power
Plant Air Pollution Locater puts at your fingertips detailed information about
the air you and your family are breathing. Now you can zoom in on your state,
your city, and even on the power plant in your back yard — and find out what
dirty air means to you.
Democrat & Chronicle: Report: Area's air impure
Environmentalists rank it 43rd worst in quality, links to illness. — Rochester
is the 43rd-worst metropolitan area in the nation for air quality, according to
a national report released by a nonprofit organization Wednesday. Clear the Air,
based in Washington, D.C., released a report, “Dirty Air, Dirty Power,” linking
health problems to areas near older, coal-burning power plants. Rochester was
43rd out of 352 metro areas. (June 11, 2004)
Democrat
and Chronicle Check out
Clear The Air - Power Plant Air
Pollution Locater from
Clear The Air
NEW YORK AIR QUALITY: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY
Lung Association’s 2008 State of the Air Report Chronicles Unhealthy Ozone, Soot
Levels The American Lung Association of New York today sounded the alarms for
all New Yorkers over the quality of air they breathe. According to the State of
the Air: 2008 report, released today by the American Lung Association, seven of
the 33 counties with air quality monitors received failing grades. “Air
pollution in New York is a statewide problem, from Buffalo to Bayport, and from
Staten Island to Saratoga, millions of New Yorkers are breathing unhealthy air,”
said Michael Seilback, Senior Director of Public Policy & Advocacy. “According
to the 2008 American Lung Association State of the Air report, residents of all
regions of New York State breathe air with dangerously high levels of both
particulate matter and ozone.”Elmira, Rochester, and Utica-Rome made the
national list of cleanest cities for ozone. Rochester is one of only 2 cities
over 1 million in population to make the list.--from
Home
- American Lung Association of New York State
How's our air quality in New York State? Check out
Division of Air
Resources from the New York
State Department of Environmental Conservation - Protecting NY's Environment and
Managing its Natural Resources
Check
out the daily air quality forecast on EPA's website:
EPA AIRNow The AQI tells you how clean
the air is and whether it will affect your health. Through AIRNow, EPA, NOAA,
NPS, state, and local agencies work together to report current and forecast
conditions for ozone and particle pollution. How is Rochester, New York's
air today: (scroll down to Rochester)
EPA AIRNOW New York Air Quality
Clean Indoor Air Act Effective July 24, 2003, the amended New York State
Clean Indoor Air Act (Public Health Law, Article 13-E) prohibits smoking in
virtually all workplaces, including restaurants and bars. The changes in the Act
reflect the state’s commitment to ensuring that all workers are protected from
secondhand smoke. Localities may continue to adopt and enforce local laws
regulating smoking. However, these regulations must be at least as strict as the
Clean Indoor Air Act.--from
New York State
| Citizen Guide
This is intolerable:
Democrat & Chronicle: Local air gets an F for ozone Monroe and Wayne
counties cited in Lung Association survey
Almost half of U.S. residents live in areas with
unhealthy amounts of ozone, the ground-hugging pollutant that contributes to
respiratory disease. That’s according to a new American Lung Association
report, “State of the Air: 2003.” The report, a state-by-state look (available
online at www.lungusa.org), comes on the
eve of White House provisions that would weaken the Clean Air Act, the group
said. “State of the Air” also ranks U.S. counties where ozone pollution --
measured by “high ozone days” -- is significant. Monroe County was one of 18 New
York counties to receive a grade of “F” -- worse than last year, when the county
received a “D.” (May 1,
2003)
Democrat and Chronicle
STPP:
Reports Clearing the Air
- Public Health Threats from
Cars and Heavy Duty Vehicles- Why We Need to Protect Federal Clean Air Laws -
Nearly half of all
Americans are breathing unhealthy air, and air quality in dozens of metropolitan
areas has actually gotten worse over the last decade according to a new report
from the Surface Transportation Policy Project. The study names transportation
as a major contributor to air pollution nationwide, and calls on Congress to
protect and strengthen clean air laws and funding. Lawmakers will soon vote on
legislation that could undermine clean air protections and slash funding for
transportation alternatives that reduce traffic and air pollution including
rail, buses and bikeways. The new report, Clearing the Air, Public Health
Threats from Cars and Heavy Duty Vehicles - Why We Need to Protect Federal Clean
Air Laws ranks metropolitan areas by the highest number of days of unhealthy air
pollution levels.
Using the Internet to
improve air quality: Improving
Air Quality in Your Community | US EPA Communities like yours are essential
to protecting our environment and improving public health. EPA is committed to
finding ways to help build the capacity of communities to improve their quality
of life. This Web site presents ideas on what communities can do to improve
local air quality. Many communities have successfully engaged in these
activities and made improvements to their local air quality. EPA and other
government programs also support some of these activities through grants. How do
I find information on activities that might be useful to my community? The links
below list activities related to where pollutants originate. Note that reducing
the emissions from one source can also have benefits in another area. Indoor air
Outdoor air - industry, business and home Outdoor air - transportation sources
Bucket Brigade Home Page
The Bucket Brigade is a community based air monitoring project. The project is a
joint partnership of local environmental groups such as Shoreline Environmental
Alliance (SEA), Communities for a Safe Environment (CSE), Community Abatement of
Pollution and Industrial Toxins (CAP-IT), West County Toxics Coalition (WCTC),
North Richmond Neighborhood Council, and Health Neighborhoods, as well as
Communities for a Better Environment ( a non-profit Environmental Justice
Organization), and Contra Costa County Hazardous Materials Division and Contra
Costa Health Services. This web site provides information about the project and
access to data collected during chemicals releases and industrial
incidents/accidents in Contra Costa County
Today's
Air Quality Index (AQI) Forecast for New York State New York State Air
Quality Hotline: (800) 535-1345 --from
NYS Dept. of Environmental
Conservation
Does you school
system have non-polluting school buses?
EPA: Clean School Bus
USA Find out about
Fact Sheet: Clean
School Bus USA Grant Program Requests for Applications To support EPA’s
efforts to reduce pollution from school buses, Congress included $5 million in
EPA's budget this year for a cost-shared grant program designed to assist school
districts in upgrading their bus fleets. EPA is now accepting grant applications
for this competition. This grant program will fund demonstration projects that
document various ways to reduce pollution from school buses through the use of
EPA verified pollution reduction technology. EPA's goal is to fund a range or
programs from across the country representing urban, rural, large, and small
school districts as well as a variety of different technologies and fuels.
To obtain general information on indoor
air contaminants contact the Monroe County Health Department 716-274-6053
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has an ozone hotline: (800)
535-1345. For questions about the health effects of ozone, call the state
Department of Health hotline at (800) 458-1158. --from the Rochester Democrat
and Chronicle
Open burning of trash is illegal in Monroe County. To report occurrences
of open burning, contact the Monroe
County Health Department (716) 2746050 To obtain information on
open burning regulations contact Monroe
County Health Department: 9716) 274-6053. To learn
more:
Roll Out the
Barrels: --from Environmental
Advocates of New York - Home Page "In addition to being a fire hazard,
backyard burning of household waste is a leading source of dangerous pollutants,
including dioxins, particulate matter, lead, mercury and hexachlorobenzene.
The EPA has created a new section on its website (
www.epa.gov/msw/backyard )
containing information, links, presentations and other outreach materials for
local governments to use with their residents. To order brochures, contact the
National Service Center for Environmental Publications at
www.epa.gov/ncepihom , by phone at
800-490-9198 or 513-489-8190, or email:
ncepimal@one.ne .
Clean Burning Woodstoves & Fireplaces :
EPA A woodstove or fireplace adds warmth and ambiance to your home. This
site offers information to help you choose an EPA certified stove (PDF, 67 pp,
1142 KB) or another cleaner burning hearth appliance (e.g., gas or pellet stove)
and use it efficiently and safely. Air quality program officials will find
information to help them support and develop programs for addressing residential
wood smoke.
Got
some extra money? Why not buy up a federal permit allowing for the
emission of one ton of sulfur dioxide for a year? This means (provided
that you yourself don't send up into the air a ton of this stuff) that
it's one less ton pollution companies will not be able to put into our
air. Find out all about this at the EPA. Allowance
Trading.
How much does your vehicle pollute? Using
Tailpipe
Tally, you can compare the environmental and economic costs of
different vehicles. Simply provide some basic information and get
fuel consumption, fuel cost, and vehicle emissions for any vehicle
(model year 1978 to present) you choose.
EPA: Clean School Bus USA
Apply for a Clean School Bus Grant - Request for applications closes August 1,
2003. - Worried about Diesel fuel and your children's health?
The goal of Clean School Bus USA is to reduce both children's exposure to diesel
exhaust and the amount of air pollution created by diesel school buses. School
buses are the safest way for children to get to school. However, pollution from
diesel vehicles has health implications for everyone, especially children. By
working together, we can reduce pollution from public school buses making sure
that school buses are also a very clean way for children to get to school. Clean
School Bus USA brings together partners from business, education,
transportation, and public health organizations to work toward these goals:
What's
your impact on air pollution? Go to Airhead.org's Calculator
and find out: Yes, the United States emits too much pollution, but what does
that have to do with me? Guess what, you pollute. (Shocking, we realize.) Now
that that's settled…the question is, should you be more worried about the
impact of driving to the ski slopes every weekend or jetting to Aruba once a
month? This is the place to find out.
Diesel
school buses threaten kids' health A
new NRDC study found that excess exhaust levels on school buses were 23 to 46
times higher than levels considered to be a significant cancer risk according to
EPA guidelines. In Depth: Report, No Breathing in the Aisles, Diesel
Exhaust Inside School Buses, This February 2001 study from NRDC and the
Coalition for Clean Air shows that children who ride a diesel school bus may be
exposed to up to four times more toxic diesel exhaust than someone traveling in
a car directly in front of it. The study found that excess exhaust levels on
school buses were 23 to 46 times higher than levels considered to be a
significant cancer risk according to the U.S Environmental Protection Agency and
federal guidelines.
Click here to get a
complete EnviroMap of Rochester,
New York. from the EPA. Find extensive environmental information about
our city including of environmental information, including drinking water, toxic
and air releases, hazardous waste, water discharge permits, and Superfund sites.
Find out about mobile air
toxins in Rochester, by the Center of
Environmental Information: In March 2007, the Air Toxics Research
Group released the report entitled "Inventory
and Literature Review of Mobile Source Air Toxics in the Rochester Metropolitan
Statistical Area" The purpose of this report is to present information about
the sources and relative contribution of major mobile source air toxics
emissions in the Rochester MSA.
Air Pollution in the News
for Rochester, New York (Please note: the links below open in a
new window.)
- Air Now --Ozone
Mapping --from the EPA. The U.S. EPA has developed the AIRNow website to
provide the public with easy access to national air quality information.
The website offers daily air quality forecasts as well as real-time air
quality for over 100 cities across the U.S., and provides links to more
detailed State and local air quality websites. The AIRNow program was
initially funded by EPA's Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and
Community Tracking (EMPACT). It is a joint partnership between EPA,
State and local air quality agencies. The mission of the AIRNow program
is to provide air quality forecasts and real-time air quality
information in a visual, easy-to-understand format.
-
New
York State Ozone Forecast --from NYSDEC The "ozone
season" typically runs from May 15 until September 15. The
downstate forecast includes Westchester and Rockland Counties, New York
City, and Long Island. The upstate forecast is for the remainder of the
state. The forecast is updated Monday through Friday by 11 am. It is not
updated on the weekends. However, the ozone health advisory page is
updated every day, and you are advised to go there for the latest health
advisory.
- EPA's
Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards
directs national
efforts to meet air quality goals, particularly for smog, air toxics,
carbon monoxide, lead, particulate matter (soot and dust), sulfur
dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. The office is responsible for
implementing other major provisions of the Clean Air Act, including
those related to visibility, permitting, and emission standards for a
wide variety of industrial facilities.
- Clean
Air Network- Your One-Stop Advocacy Resource for Clean Air! The
Clean Air Network is a broad alliance of local, state, and national
organizations committed to working for air quality that promotes good
health and preserves the environment. We empower and mobilize
organizations by setting a national agenda and providing the resources,
tools, and support necessary for action. The Networks' members work
together to secure a legacy of clean air for present and future
generations.
-
Division
of Air Quality -- Complete resources for air quality issues and
regulations from the New York State Department of Environmental
Conservation Air
Permit Access Page
- New York just passed tougher smog emission standards for vehicles.
Find out more from EPA's program from here:
National
Low Emission Vehicle Program and Ozone Transport Commission (OTC) LEV
- ClearTheAir The National
Campaign against dirty power. Clear the Air is a national campaign to
improve air quality by reducing emissions from coal-burning power
plants. Cleaning up coal-fired power plants is the single greatest thing
we can do to protect public health, curb global warming, reduce acid
rain, and stop mercury contamination. Read
Death, Disease & Dirty Power Mortality and Health Damage Due to
Air Pollution from Power Plants
- American Lung Association The
American Lung Association (ALA) is the oldest voluntary health
organization in the United States, with a National Office and
constituent and affiliate associations around the country. Founded in
1904 to fight tuberculosis, ALA today fights lung disease in all its
forms, with special emphasis on asthma, tobacco control and
environmental health.
- EPA office of Air and Radiation:
Find out air and particulate standards.
-
The Plain
English Guide To The Clean Air Act --EPA Office of Air Quality
Standards and Planning.
-
Hazardous
Air Pollutant Report: NEW YORK Get info on these topics: Map
Locating Hazardous Air Pollution, Ranking by Health Risks, Cancer Risks
and Noncancer Hazards in NEW YORK, Sources Contributing to Health Risks
From HAPs, What We Don't Know About HAPs in NEW YORK--from Scorecard.org
- Burning Issues provides
public education about the health hazards of exposure to wood smoke.
Smoke from residential burning of wood, wood burning restaurants and
outdoor burning of wood, crops and debris is permeating our
neighborhoods, resulting in high ground level concentrations of toxic
air pollution.
-
Particulate
Matter Air Pollution What you can't see may be very dangerous to
your health!
- CLEAN AIR. Environmental
Advocates is leading the fight for New York's clean car mandate
and for a state inspection and maintenance program for heavy duty diesel
motors, a major source of health endangering soot.Focus
on Auto Emissions
-
Death,
Disease & Dirty Power Mortality and Health Damage Due to Air
Pollution from Power Plants --CleanTheAir.org
-
Reports
Breath-taking Premature Mortality Due to Particulate Air Pollution in
239 American Cities ROCHESTER, NY, This table provides summary
information for Metropolitan Statistical Area 6840, ROCHESTER, NY. The
table also provides detailed information on PM-10 concentrations
reported at individual monitoring stations within the MSA.--from National
Resources Defense Council. NRDC.
-
EPA
Particulate Matter Center Epidemiological studies have consistently
found an association between small increases in urban particulates and
health effects, including increased morbidity and mortality in people with
respiratory and cardiac disease.---University of Rochester School of
Medicine & Dentistry
- What Does Global Warming Mean
For Your City? from Environmental Defense Fund.
(The nearest city's warming projection is Buffalo, but this interesting site
provides food for thought on the global warming issue and how it might affect Rochester.)
- National Air Quality and Emissions
Trends Report, 1997--EPA. Though controversial, and perhaps suppressed, this report
shows that the air quality of some our local cities may be in jeopardy. File is in Portable
Document File Help for
 format.
-
New
Air Toxic Guideline Values - Guidelines for the control of toxic
ambient air contaminants (formerly Air Guide-1). __NYS DEC
- Air Quality Program
Environmental Health Center A Division of the National Safety Council -
The National Safety Council’s Environmental Health Center (EHC)
conducts a variety of outreach and education activities on air quality
issues. These following efforts are supported by grants from the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency. For more information, contact an
environmental health specialist at (800) 557-2366 or send us an e-mail
message.
- Allergy, Asthma, Immunology
of Rochester: The Resource Center is located at: 310 Perinton Hills
Office Park, Fairport, New York 14450,TEL: 716-223 - 2880
- AAAAI - American Academy of
Allergy Asthma and Immunology - www.aaaai.org The
American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (AAAAI) is the largest
professional medical specialty organization representing allergists,
clinical immunologists, allied health professionals, and other physicians
with a special interest in allergy. It was established in 1943 with the
merger of the American Association for the Study of Allergy and the
Association for the Study of Asthma and Allied Conditions. In 1948, the
Executive Office for the Academy was established in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
At that time, membership totaled 528. Today, AAAAI membership totals more
than 6,000.
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EANY's CARBON CAP
CAMPAIGN Welcome to EANY's Cap Carbon in New York
Campaign website, a place for New Yorkers seeking information on Global
Warming From acid rain to polluted waterways to
the loss of wilderness and open space, New York's magnificent environment
faces many challenges. Global warming is another. It, too, is caused by
human activity. Global warming is unique, however, in its worldwide scope
and long-term consequences. The decisions we make today will affect the
health of our families and our planet for generations to come. That's why
we have a responsibility to reduce the pollution that causes global
warming. Fortunately, New York has begun to act. In June 2001, Governor
George Pataki created the Greenhouse Gas Task Force to develop a global
warming strategy for New York. Environmental Advocates welcomes this
effort and hopes the Task Force will call for quick and meaningful
actions. Among them should be a cap (limit) on emissions of the gases that
cause global warming, starting with power plants. This one step will get
us on our way toward a comprehensive solution. That's why we'd like to see
the Governor Cap Carbon in New York.
-
Clean Air - Cool Planet |
Climate Change Solutions for the Northeast
Clean Air-Cool Planet creates partnerships in
the Northeast to implement solutions to climate change and build
constituencies for effective climate policies and actions. Clean Air-Cool
Planet (CA-CP) is the region's leading organization dedicated to finding
and promoting solutions to global warming:
- Clean
Air Task Force (CATF) Founded in 1996, the Clean
Air Task Force (CATF) is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to restoring clean air and healthy
environments through scientific research, public
education, and legal advocacy. Our unique and singular
focus on atmospheric issues has allowed us to go deep
on the issues, and be persistent and effective.
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