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EPD official says Macon's
air not always safe
By Christopher
Schwarzen
A top state environmental official said Tuesday that Macon's air isn't always safe to breathe, but that should change in the next three years. David Word, assistant director of the state Environmental Protection Division, said during a local Kiwanis Club meeting that Macon will need to create a plan to reduce ozone pollution in the area during the next two to three years. For the past three years, Macon has failed federal standards for ground-level ozone safety. Ground-level ozone is created when fossil-fuel pollution from industrial sources and vehicle emissions mixes with hot summer temperatures. It is not the same as the Earth's ozone layer, a protective barrier five miles in the sky that keeps out many of the sun's harmful rays. Ground-level ozone is corrosive and limits the lungs' ability to transfer oxygen to the bloodstream, Word said. Ozone is used in the medical industry to sterilize equipment. This summer, the EPD will ask Gov. Roy Barnes to send a letter to the federal Environmental Protection Agency declaring Bibb County out of attainment for ozone standards, Word said. If the EPA accepts that recommendation, as it is likely to do, then Macon will need to create a plan to reduce ozone pollution similar to Atlanta's. That could mean additional pollution-prevention measures at many of the area's industries, including Georgia Power's coal-fired plants Scherer and Branch. It also could mean a delay in federal funding for road projects or could require automobile emissions testing until those levels are decreased, Word said. "Best case scenario is that the Atlanta plan will correct Macon's problem," he said. Under Atlanta's plan, Georgia Power must install more pollution-reduction measures at plants Branch and Scherer. That could be enough to decrease Macon's ozone levels to below federal standards. Georgia Power spokesman John Sell said the company was testing different methods for complying with the Atlanta reduction plan but hadn't installed any equipment yet. A Georgia Tech study funded by the state Legislature will help determine how bad Macon's air quality is, Word said. There is only one ozone monitor now in Bibb County, located at the Georgia Forestry Commission office off Riggins Mill Road. The Georgia Tech study will place more monitors in the county. They cost almost $50,000 to purchase and another $75,000 annually to analyze their data. Georgia Power says it supports the study. "If we're determined to be a problem, then we'll be part of the solution," Sell said. "This study should help determine what the problem is." Word said work has started to determine ozone sources. The state has a database of local industrial emissions and is using that as a base for future work. "What I hope is that from this work, I can come back in two years and present you our plan for correcting the problem," Word said.
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