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U.S. Air Pollution Increasing Risk Of Cancer, EPA Reports Democrat & Chronicle, Page 9A; Rochester, NY; June 1, 2002; Erin Kelly; |
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WASHINGTON- Air pollution from cars, trucks and construction equipment is exposing Americans to a lifetime cancer risk at least 10 times greater than the level considered acceptable by the federal government, according to a government report released Friday. "Millions of people live in areas where air toxics may pose potentially significant health concerns," the Environmental Protection Agency report said. The National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment, based on 1996 air-quality data, was posted on the EPA’s Web site Friday afternoon. Americans are being exposed through air pollution to a 1 in 100,000 risk of contracting cancer during their lifetimes, the report says. Any risk higher than 1 in 1 million has typically been considered too high, according to a question-and-answer summary of the report complied by EPA officials. Generally, residents of large urban areas are exposed to the highest cancer risk because the abundance of vehicles. More than 20 million Americans are being exposed to a cancer risk of 1 in 10,000 – 100 times higher than the acceptable level, said environmentalists at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, which was analyzing the report. "These findings are a wake-up call that EPA should take action to reduce this long-overlooked public health threat," said Emily Figdor of the environmental group. "EPA still has yet to fulfill its mandate under the Clean Air Act to reduce the risks posed by toxic emissions from cars, trucks, and nonroad engines, like construction and farm equipment, and their fuels." Among the cancer-causing pollutants measured in the assessment are benzene, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde and butadiene. The report does not measure the cancer risk associated with diesel exhaust because the EPA has not determined exactly what level of diesel constitutes and unacceptable cancer risk. Still, the report indicates that diesel exhaust is among the air pollutants that pose the greated public health threat. In a separate study, California air quality officials recently estimated that more than 70 percent of the increased cancer risk from airborne pollutants resulted from diesel pollution. The EPA already has adopted tough new standards to reduce emissions from diesel fuel used by trucks and buses on the highway. Those new standards take effect in 2006. However, environmentalists are urging the EPA to also strengthen standards for diesel engines used in off-road construction vehicles. EPA officials are considering action. To learn more: www.epa.gov/ttn/atw/nata |
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