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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Report: Oil and Gas Pollution Linked to Asthma Attacks

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Wednesday, August 31, 2016   

PHILADELPHIA – Ozone smog from oil and gas pollution will cause more than 30,000 summertime childhood asthma attacks in Pennsylvania in 2025, according to a new report.

There are more than 100,000 oil and gas wells, compressors and other facilities in the state. And while you can't see it, those facilities leak tons of methane and other ozone forming pollutants into the air.

As Janice Nolen, assistant vice president for national policy with the American Lung Association, points out, that can have a huge impact on health.

"Breathing ozone at higher levels is something that's associated with shortened lives, and that is a crucial impact that people don't always appreciate when they're hearing 'ozone,'” she explains. “They think of it as being not terribly toxic."

The report, "Gasping for Breath," by the Clean Air Task Force, compiles estimates of ozone emissions from oil and gas facilities around the country and the number of asthma attacks in key states, including Pennsylvania.

While the health risks are greatest near the original sources, airborne pollution from oil and gas facilities has health impacts far downwind.

Jackie Smith-Spade is a teacher in Philadelphia. Her son suffers from asthma and she says the connection to smog levels is clear.

"The dirtier the air, the worse my son's breathing is,” she relates. “And I always know when I'm going to have fewer kids in my classroom, because they're the same days my own son is having an asthma flare up."

According to the report, by 2025, smog from oil and gas pollution will cause children in Pennsylvania to miss more than 22,000 days of school a year.

In June, the Environmental Protection Agency published federal standards to limit pollution from new and modified oil and gas facilities.

Paul Billings, senior vice president for advocacy with the American Lung Association, says the agency is working on standards for older facilities.

"Moving forward with common sense best practices and setting strict standards and enforcing them, and ensuring that players comply by these rules will go a long way to address the pollution that's caused by oil and gas extraction," he states.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has outlined a plan to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production, but the plan still needs to be developed into regulations.





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