Port Arthur removed from Air Pollutant Watch List

Source: The Beaumont Enterprise, TexasAug.迷你倉 29--Port Arthur would come off an Air Pollutant Watch List created by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality because industry there has reduced the level of benzene, a known cancer-causing chemical.Port Arthur has been on the commission's watch list since 2001 because of elevated levels on its west side, said Tara Capobianco, the commission's air pollution watch coordinator.The commission plans to conduct a public meeting on the issue at 6 p.m. Oct. 8, at the Port Arthur Public Library, 4615 Ninth Ave, Port Arthur.Commission staff will explain the proposal to remove Port Arthur from the watch list and collect public comment for further evaluation, Capobianco said.The commission operates six monitors around Port Arthur and still would collect air samples to ensure pollutant levels remain under the standard the commission has set for benzene.Capobianco said monitoring shows benzene has been at 1 part per billion from 2009 through 2012. Monitors were installed in 1997 and benzene amounts were detected at 1.8 parts per billion in 1999."We want to see it at 1.4 parts per billion or below," she said.The watch list helps the commission negotiate reductions in emissions with industry. Being on the watch list or being de-listed doesn't af自存倉ect an application by an industry to add industrial capacity. However, if levels remain high, it invites more intense scrutiny, she said.Two other areas in Southeast Texas remain on the Air Pollutant Watch List, Capobianco said.A portion of Beaumont along South Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway still registers elevated levels of sulfur dioxide, a toxic chemical that contributes to ozone formation.Ozone is an air pollutant that forms from chemical emissions and boiler gases reacting with heat and sunlight. Today is designated as an Ozone Action Day, which asks people to limit activities that contribute to air emissions like lawn mowing during the day using gasoline-powered engines; fueling motor vehicles during the day; or idling an engine in a drive-through line.Evadale also is on the pollutant watch list because of elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide.Neither hydrogen sulfide nor sulfur dioxide are considered carcinogenic, Capobianco said.However, both locations still show higher levels than are considered acceptable by the commission, she said.DWallach@BeaumontEnterprise.comTwitter.com/dwallachCopyright: ___ (c)2013 the Beaumont Enterprise (Beaumont, Texas) Visit the Beaumont Enterprise (Beaumont, Texas) at .beaumontenterprise.com Distributed by MCT Information Services迷你倉新蒲崗