![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Statement Of Alan Rowe
Environmental Protection Agency
Aging Initiative Public Listening Session
Iowa City, Iowa
April 15, 2003
Alan Rowe
American Lung Association National Board
American Lung Association National Board
My name is Alan Rowe, and I am a member of the National Board of the American Lung Association. Thank you for allowing me to testify on environmental health issues affecting senior citizens, particularly lung health related aspects.
The American Lung Association is committed to reducing the risk to all Americans from air pollution, but senior citizens are among those at higher risk, as are children and those of any age with a lung disease. Ozone, particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, lead and more are among the air pollutants that harm senior citizens. Many seniors live in areas where the air they breathe puts them at risk. Just to cite one example, last year we noted in our State of the Air 2002 report card that over 17 million seniors live in counties that received an F grade for having unhealthy air. Even Iowa is not exempt from air pollution.
As we age, our ability to breathe declines over time, making us ever more susceptible to the ravages of air pollution. Ozone and fine particle air pollution can further reduce lung function, making it even harder for seniors to breathe. Ozone air pollution also increases susceptibility to influenza, pneumonia, and other infections, which are especially dangerous to the elderly. Fine particle air pollution has been linked repeatedly to increased risk of premature death, targeting especially those, like seniors, whose lungs are more vulnerable.
Seniors also tend to have higher incidences of chronic bronchitis and emphysema, forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which further weakens the lungs. In the eastern United States alone, summer ozone pollution causes an estimated 159,000 emergency room visits per year for COPD and other respiratory emergenciesi. New evidence, just published this month, suggests that the toll of air pollution on seniors may have been underestimated, especially on pollution-related mortality and lung disease.ii
Not only is the American Lung Association deeply concerned about the ravaging effects on health from air pollution, but we are also dismayed by the inadequate and illegal response from EPA to combat these pollutants. Instead of recognizing the requirement for dirty plants to clean up when they increase pollution, EPA is granting them a free ride on the lungs of our seniors by rolling back new source review protections in the Clean Air Act.
Furthermore, the proposals from the administration for its inappropriately dubbed "Clear Skies Initiative" will fail to reduce pollution as much or as quickly as the current law. Instead of pushing for further clean up of some of the nation's dirtiest plants, the administration's proposal would allow these plants to continue to risk the lives of seniors, as well as the rest of America, for years to come.
Young and old Americans alike have much to lose from the harm of air pollution. The threat to our health and to the health of those we love is serious and real. What we should have, and do not have now, is the continued commitment of the federal government to take the strongest steps necessary to clean up that threat. What I can promise is the continued commitment of the American Lung Association to fight to reduce air pollution and to protect the lungs of the most vulnerable among us.
i Abt Associates. Adverse Health Effects Associated with Ozone in the Eastern United States. October 1999.
ii De Leon S.F., Thurston, G.D., Ito, K. Contributions of Respiratory Disease to Nonrespiratory Mortality Associations with Air Pollution. Amer J Res Crit Care Med 167:1117-1123.