 The Columbus Dispatch
Michael Hawthorne Summer doesn't officially begin until June 20, but central Ohio's growing car culture already is fouling the air with smog. With temperatures expected to reach the 90s today and high 80s Sunday, officials are urging the elderly and people who suffer from breathing problems to stay indoors. They also want residents of Franklin, Delaware and Licking counties to help reduce smog by driving less, waiting to mow their lawns until after 6 p.m. and avoiding the use of charcoal lighter fluid. An air monitor on Maple Canyon Drive on the North Side registered an average of 93 parts per billion of ozone smog during an eight-hour period yesterday -- a count well above the federal standard of 85 parts per billion. Central Ohio managed to dodge auto-emissions tests and other pollution controls during the past decade. But after a series of high ozone readings last summer, area officials decided to start warning residents that conditions are ripe for smog. "We're not issuing a full-blown smog alert yet, but there's reason to be concerned," said Laura Koprowski, spokeswoman for the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission. Smog is created when the summer sun bakes an irritating mix of hydrocarbons from gasoline- powered engines and nitrogen oxides from coal- burning industrial plants. Hot weather and light winds contribute to the problem. High levels of ozone can make it difficult for even healthy people to breathe. Regional planners fear the area could face more smog-related illnesses and federal sanctions as Columbus continues to grow and more people commute into Downtown, generating more auto-generated pollutants. An air monitor in Delaware, one of the region's fastest-growing areas, registered an average of 92 parts per billion of ozone yesterday, according to a Web site operated by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. Federal officials said they adopted tougher ozone standards to protect people with asthma, bronchitis and other respiratory ailments, but a federal appeals court put the regulations on hold after a coalition of industries and states -- including Ohio -- filed suit. The U.S. Supreme Court decided last month to review the standards and a related lawsuit filed by business groups that contends the regulations should be weighed against the costs to implement them. State officials are collecting smog data even though they can't enforce the standards while the nation's high court considers the case. As many as 58 of Ohio's 88 counties, including Franklin and Delaware, would fail the tougher standards, according to the Ohio EPA. The state's air-pollution problems could force the expansion of the E- Check tailpipe-emissions tests and curbs on new industrial plants. "Depending on what happens down the line, we could face quite a few more controls," said Heidi Griesmer, an EPA spokeswoman. "E-Check is one option, but that's not a forgone conclusion." Columbus-based American Electric Power, one of the utilities that challenged the federal regulations, announced last year that it was prepared to spend $1.2 billion to curb elements of smog emitted from its power-plant smokestacks. Environmental groups, meanwhile, accuse state regulators of allowing smog problems to increase while the state fights efforts to control pollution. "It's good that somebody is warning people about this problem," said Kurt Waltzer, air-quality manager for the Ohio Environmental Council. "We just wish the state would stop wasting taxpayer dollars trying to overturn smog controls and spend more time cleaning up power plants and encouraging cleaner fuels." Back to Ohio state page
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