Advocates
Call for Clean Cars Program
Bethesda
– Marylanders breathe air with dangerous levels of benzene and other toxic
substances, according to a new report released today by Environment Maryland. Data from the U.S. EPA shows that every Maryland county has
levels of airborne toxics that are more than ten times higher than the federal
cancer risk standard.
“Federal agencies are always very cautious about labeling
something a ‘known human carcinogen,’ so we know there’s a real problem when
they do,” said Brad Heavner, state director of Environment Maryland and
co-author of the report. “We’re breathing this stuff at levels that are known
to kill people. Policy makers need to stop letting Detroit tell them they can’t make cleaner
cars.”
Health care providers, elected officials, and clean air
advocates gathered at Suburban
Hospital today to release
the findings of the report.
“Normally when people think about bad air, they think about
smog,” said Dr. Gwen Dubois of Sinai
Hospital. “But air toxics are a very clear and present
danger. Benzene is a known human carcinogen that we’re breathing every day.”
The report found that Baltimore City
has the highest levels of cancer risk in the state from these pollutants. For
the three pollutants combined, air in Baltimore
is 62 times as polluted as EPA health standards. Pollution levels were 45 times as high as
health standards in Baltimore and Montgomery counties and 41 times as high in Prince George’s County.
The study looked at three types of air toxics that are among
the most dangerous cancer-causing compounds found in the air. Emissions of
these substances come mostly from cars and trucks. According to the report, 84 percent of
benzene, 99 percent of 1,3-butadiene, and 87 percent of acetaldehyde emissions
come from vehicles.
“Air pollution is a silent cause of illness and death in Baltimore and Maryland,”
said Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein. “Every day,
secondhand smoke causes heart attacks and other serious conditions. Power
plants contribute to smog and particulate matter that trigger asthma and worsen
chronic lung disease. Today’s report reveals another dimension to this problem
– the cancer risk associated with air toxics. In Maryland and nationally, more can and must
be done to protect the air we breathe.”
Participants in the news conference urged adoption of the
Clean Cars Program, which would require automakers to use technology that would
reduce emissions of air toxics. The Maryland Department of the Environment is
currently considering whether to enact the program, and legislators intend to
introduce a bill in the legislative session that begins in January to enact the
program.
“The kind of future that we pass
onto our next generations will in part be determined by whether or not we
choose to establish a Clean Cars standard or simply accept the status quo that
is literally killing us and doing irreparable harm to our planet,”
said Delegate Bill Bronrott (District 16). “This legislation is
about clean air, a clean Bay, clean and healthy communities, and doing our
share to stop global warming."
The Clean Cars Program would result in reduced emissions of air
toxics of 57 to 79 percent from today’s levels within twenty years. That is the
equivalent of taking 190,000 cars off the state’s roads.
Additional Contacts:
Del.
Bill Bronrott, 301-896-0003
Del. Jane
Lawton, 301-858-3638
Dr. Phil
Corcoran, 301-896-2598
Dr. Lorne
Garrettson, 301-260-8835
Rev.
Terence Collins, 301-499-2319
Cindy
Schwartz, 410-280-9855
Ed Osann,
301-535-4013
