6 th Annual Unifour Air Quality Conference June 15 th 2012

NC Department of Environment & Natural Resources

BREATHE BETTER Unifour Air Quality Conference. June 15 th 2012

BREATHE BETTER What are we going to talk about today?  What’s the problem?  Air Quality 101  Why do we care about air quality?

 State Issues: Ozone and Particle Pollution  SO 2 in the Wilmington Area  Regional air quality issues and concerns  Attainment / Non- Attainment  Air quality standards change (more protective of our health)  Local air pollution  Pollution straight from the tailpipe into our lungs  Problems right here in the Unifour area What’s the problem?

Air Pollution 101  In North Carolina, the main regional air pollutants of concern include … Ozone (O 3 ) Particulate Matter (PM 2.5 )  How is Ozone formed 

Human Hair (70 µm diameter) Hair cross section (70  m) PM 2.5 (2.5 µm) PM 10 ( 10µm ) M. Lipsett, California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment µm = micrometer = one millionth of a meter Particle Pollution: What is it?

Vehicle exhaust (especially diesel) Smoke from forest fires Evans Road Fire, eastern NC, 2008 Woodstove & fireplace smoke Mountain “haze” Sulfate particles from coal-burning power plants Leaf, brush and garbage burning Examples of Particle Pollution

Improving Air Quality

Where do pollutants come from?  Sources of Pollutants  Point ( e.g., electric utilities, refineries, “smokestack” industries, etc.)  Area (e.g., dry cleaners, paints, solvents, etc.)  Mobile (e.g., cars, trucks, construction equipment, etc.) On-Road (Cars, trucks, buses) Non-Road (Airplanes, trains, construction equipment)  Biogenic (e.g., trees, vegetation, soils)

On-road vehicles 48% Off-road vehicles 17% Electric Power Plants 16% Other Point Sources 8% Area Sources 11% Light-Duty Vehicles 46% Heavy-Duty Vehicles 54% 2009 Data Nitrogen Oxides (NOx)

Why do we care?

Air Pollution 101  In addition to criteria pollutants problems (Ozone, PM, and SO 2 ) any place in North Carolina can have local air quality problems.  Toxic chemicals and compounds directly from the tailpipe, or smoke stack, can have serious health implications in the immediate area surrounding the source.

WHAT CAN YOU DO? Reduce pollution in your neighborhoods

Idle Reduction  Simple, turn off your engine  Turn off your engine campaign signs  Control your parking lots / decks  Heavy duty idle restrictions

Breathe, DON’T BURN  Open Burning  Almost 290 documented open burning violations happened in the Unifour during the past five years.  How many more were just not reported to DAQ?  Smoke from open burning harms public health and contributes to overall air quality degradation.

Fuel Efficiency 33 city / 41 highway Ford Fiesta: 29/40

Sometimes, do you feel like this?

Carpooling / Vanpooling   Create incentives for employees to form carpools / vanpools.  Promote going shopping with your next door neighbor.  Does your church encourage carpooling to church functions?

Walking / Biking  Walkable communities  Health benefits  Lifestyle change

Public Transit  Take the bus!

Public Transit

Milli Hayman Environmental Specialist II Jonathan Navarro Environmental Senior Specialist Keith Bamberger Information & Communication Specialist CONTACT INFO RU4NCAIR CONTACT INFO RU4NCAIR 6th Annual Unifour Air Quality Conference