Toxic Air – Houston is on the Frontlines

• Fine particulate matter, sometimes called PM₂.₅ or soot, is one of the nation’s most widespread health threats. In Texas, however, soot has received less attention than ground-level ozone, or smog, the state’s most visible problem with air pollution. That is partly because of insufficient monitoring for particulate matter. 
• A  new analysis  by the Harvard School of Public Health and Environmental Defense Fund reveals that exposure to particle pollution in the Houston area in 2015 alone contributed to more than 5,000 premature deaths and nearly $50 billion in economic damages.
• The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is  requesting comments  by 5 p.m., May 14, 2020 on a new air quality monitoring plan to address PM₂.₅ in Houston and your input is critically important, as explained below.

• These invisible airborne particles, which escape from power plants, cars and trucks and industrial facilities, can lodge in lungs and enter the bloodstream. They cause heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer. 
• Exposure to these particles is the largest environmental risk for early death in the U.S. 
• Soot is also dangerous for young people – studies show that exposure to it can impair childhood lung development.

• Using satellite data from the  Harvard analysis , EDF identified a large toxic plume of particulate matter (indicated by the red area in the map below) in west Houston that was previously unseen. 
• It went undetected for years because TCEQ has not monitored particulate matter in west Houston (current monitors are represented by the blue dots).  
• These maps show how the toxic plume expanded from 2013 to 2015, the most recent available data.
• Scientists believe the soot in west Houston comes from industrial and marine sources along the Houston Ship Channel, as well as diesel vehicles and construction equipment. We need more analysis for attribution. 
• It is clear that a west Houston monitor would have shown soot levels above federal limits, forcing TCEQ to reduce this pollution. 

• Soot contributed to 5,213 deaths across Houston in 2015 alone.
• The first map shows the deaths per square mile by census tract. The average number of deaths is 2.6 per square mile, however, in 23 census tracks the 2015 rate exceeded 10 deaths per square mile.
• Residents and Civic Organizations sharing geographic and community priorities have organized themselves into  Super Neighborhoods , working together to address common concerns and planning with city officials. For that reason, we have also presented the health damages from PM₂.₅ for each Super Neighborhood. The areas in the map below in white are not City of Houston-recognized Super Neighborhoods

• Although Harvard’s satellite data clearly shows the toxic plume in west Houston, TCEQ and EPA are not required to take action unless an expensive, federally certified monitor measures the pollution.
• Federal rules require TCEQ to install monitors in areas with the highest levels of soot – and areas of greatest population exposure. TCEQ, until now, has clearly failed to meet this obligation in west Houston.
• The map below shows where soot exposure in Houston was, on average, highest for 2013 to 2015 (red areas), and areas with higher population density (hatched areas). The existing PM₂.₅ monitors (blue dots) play a very important role because they are in areas along the Houston Ship Channel where much of the PM₂.₅ originates. It is clear that the region needs more monitors to meet federal rules. 
• TCEQ has proposed to add a new monitor in west Houston (blue star). Tighter budgets, however, could prevent this from happening despite the need. 

• Many parts of Houston are above EPA’s current standard for particulate pollution (red area) – and almost the entire city is above the even lower range that most health scientists say is needed to protect public health.
• Harvard analysis finds that 75 percent of the Houston deaths happened in areas with soot levels below the current EPA standard.
• To learn more about how you can urge EPA to tighten the limits on soot and save lives,  click here . 

• We need to make sure that TCEQ follows through on their commitment to place a new monitor in a part of the city that lacks one — and encourage them to take further action to keep us safe.

• EDF is urging TCEQ to take these steps to reduce industrial soot in Houston:

www1.      Install a monitor to measure this deadly pollution in west Houston, where wwwww there is not one now.

www2.      Install additional monitors throughout the region to provide an early wwwww warning to communities and help the state to hold polluters accountable.

www3.      Identify the major sources of industrial soot to inform plans for reducing it.

www4.      Develop a plan to reduce particle pollution and save lives. 

• Here is what you can do: Send comments to TCEQ through  One Breath Partnership's website  by May 14 at 5 p.m.
• You also may find it helpful to talk with your Super Neighborhood council about submitting your own comments.