July 5, 2011-by John Blair valleywatch.net editor.
If you have a scratchy throat today, it is probably due to the exceptionally high levels of fine particles that were in the air in SW Indiana last night as fireworks lit up the night sky and caused breathing problems for anyone sufficiently unlucky to be downwind of any of the massive private and public displays that were set off.
According to data from the monitor located on Buena Vista Rd., levels reached historically high levels at 9 PM last night at 153.92µg/m3. The acute (24 hour) standard set by the USEPA is less than one quarter of that level or 35µg/m3.
Fine particles are known to cause severe respiratory problems as well as cancer, stroke and heart attacks.
Just this month, USEPA is considering re-designating the Evansville and other places in SW Indiana as attainment of the health based 1997 annual standard for fine particles. Valley Watch objected to them doing so in formal comments and we are prepared to take EPA to court if they go forward with their proposal. Our grounds are that the improvements are not federally enforceable, that faulty data was used during several years in the middle of this decade and that the recession which began in 2007 was more responsible for the air quality improvements than reductions in emissions from industrial sources.