State environmental officials say while Connecticut has made dramatic progress in cutting down on smoggy days in the past quarter century, there is much more work to do.
Figures from the state Department of Environmental Protection show that in 1983 there were more than 80 days when ground-level ozone pollution, the primary component of smog, exceeded federal standards. This year, that number has dropped to 15.
Despite the reduction, which experts say is due in large part to tougher emissions standards for vehicles and industrial polluters, officials say much remains to be done to clean up Connecticut’s smog problem.
The state has been out of compliance with federal ozone pollution standards since 2004, according to Tracy Babbidge, the DEP’s director of air planning.
Even though statewide ozone pollution has been reduced, the number of smoggy days fluctuates significantly depending on hot weather. If the temperature exceeds 90 degrees, there’s a good chance ozone pollution will spike, Babbidge said Wednesday.
“It’s not an exact one-to-one,” she said. “But we use it as a benchmark. It’s the classic case for ozone formation. There are probably other things, but that’s the major driver.”
In 1999, when there were 28 days over 90 degrees, just over 30 days exceeded federal smog standards, according to the DEP. This year, there have been 16 days over 90 degrees and 15 days with dangerously high smog levels.
The volatile chemicals that contribute to ozone pollution come from many sources, including fossil-fuel-burning power plants, cars and solvents, and react on hot days, producing smog.
While the smog created by power plants in the Northeast has been reduced, industrial pollution still reaches Connecticut from beyond state borders because of wind patterns, according to Paul Miller, deputy director of the Clean Air Association of the Northeast States.
“There are additional reductions that need to happen in the Midwest and in Ohio, in Pennsylvania, in West Virginia,” Miller said. “But that’s up to the federal government. They’ve expressed a strong unwillingness to tighten up restrictions on those power plants.”
