Atlanta meets certain federal air quality standards

By Shomial Ahmad

Atlanta, GA – The Atlanta region was consistently flunking in two areas: ozone and fine particulate matter. Atlanta Regional Commission's Jane Hayse says there are several factors that led to Atlanta now meeting the standards.

"One is that our coal-fired power plants have gotten cleaned up. In addition to that our cars have gotten cleaner. We've got cleaner catalytic converters. Our fleets are also getting better fuel efficiency."

Meeting the 1997 standards is significant, according to Rebecca Watts Hull of Mothers and Others For Clean Air. But Hull says there are public health problems caused by pollution levels that are below the current federal standards.

"Emergency department visits related to asthma rise when we have more ozone in the air. We also know that fine particles contribute to not just respiratory problems, but also heart problems."

The EPA is expected to roll out more stringent nationwide standards soon. ARC expects Atlanta, like most other metro areas, will not meet those standards.