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Statement Of Jolene Nixon
Environmental Protection Agency
Aging Initiative Public Listening Session
Tampa, Florida
April 3, 2003
Jolene Nixon
American Lung Association
American Lung Association
Good afternoon. Thank you for coming out to listen to the voices of the people whose lives are affected by your decisions. My name is Jolene Nixon and I'm with the American Lung Association of Gulfcoast Florida, which serves 15 counties, including several counties in the Tampa Bay area.
As an organization whose mission is to fight lung disease, we are deeply concerned about the quality of the air we all breathe. According to the American Lung Association's 2002 State of the Air report, 5 counties in the Tampa Bay area-Hillsborough, Manatee, Polk, Pasco and Pinellas-all received an F grade on air quality because of the number of high ozone days in the unhealthy range.
While poor air quality affects us all, it can be especially harmful to the approximate half a million seniors (65 and over) in our area, many of whom have conditions such as asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema that are made significantly worse by air pollution. Even more disturbing is that according to a report from the National Public Interest Research Group, air pollution from power plants contributes to an estimated 494 deaths in Tampa and 1740 deaths in Florida each year.
This is precisely why the American Lung Association has to speak out against the proposed "Clear Skies Initiative" proposed by the current administration. The Clear Skies Initiative repeals and weakens key provisions of the current Clean Air Act. Here are some examples:
- Under the current Clean Air Act, states must clean up air pollution and provide clean air to most citizens by 2010.
- The Clear Skies Initiative repeals those deadlines, and extends them to 2018. CSI allows for a 36% increase in the pollutants that cause smog and a 50% increase in the pollutants that cause soot.
- The Clean Air Act requires each power plant to cut mercury emissions and other toxic air pollutants by as much as 90% by 2008, and then to further limit any unacceptable risks that remain.
- CSI eliminates these requirements, allows 200% more mercury pollution and substitutes a weak program that is not fully implemented until 2018.