Tagged In: Air Pollution
Trish Demeter, November 26, 2014
The following statement on the Obama Administration’s recently proposed ozone standards can be attributed to Trish Demeter, Managing Director of Energy & Clean Air Programs for the Ohio Environmental Council:
“The US EPA’s announcement today regarding the new ozone standard will substantially reduce harmful air pollution that contributes to asthma, heart attacks and premature death. The proposed new limit will mean Ohio citizens benefit in two major ways: cleaner air and healthier lives.”
“We applaud the US EPA’s action to strengthen this standard. It will increase public health protection for all Ohioans, particularly those that are more susceptible to ozone, or smog, pollution, such as children, older adults and people with asthma or other lung diseases. According to the American Lung Association, over five million Ohioans are at risk from smog filled air. In Cuyahoga County alone over 450,000 people considered at risk for pollution from ozone.
“Opponents of the rule complain about the cost to implement the ozone standard, but the reality is the cost of doing nothing to curb ozone pollution is even greater. Compare the cost of reducing ozone with what families across Ohio pay in medical bills to take their asthmatic child to the doctor’s office because they have trouble breathing, or to take care of an elderly parent or grandparent who can go outside on certain days. Overall, and nationally, the proposed rule will provide up to 38 billion dollars in public health benefits by 2025.”