Denver Choking on Near Record Smog Levels

A hot morning sun shines down on a bike rider in Denver's Washington Park on Wednesday, July 19, 2006. For all its outdoor splendor and fit residents, the quality of Colorado's air this summer is hazy. Ozone levels along the heavily populated Front Range have been at extremes this summer. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski) (Ed Andrieski - AP)

This summer, some Denver-area monitoring stations are hovering around the maximum. One near Boulder is at the limit; one south of Littleton and another north of Denver are slightly above. Those high numbers may still come down, averaged with last year's ratings, but it leaves the state on shaky footing if next summer's numbers continue the trend.

A station installed this summer west of Fort Collins has far exceeded the standard. Those readings should "set off alarm bells" about human risk and the need for policy makers to take action, said Vickie Patton, an attorney with Environmental Defense.

"The big picture for the Colorado Front Range is a paradox where you have millions of people who are raising families here because they value clean air," she said.

Denver has until the end of 2007 to show ozone levels are in compliance. Other regions around the country, including Roanoke, Va., Greenville-Spartanburg S.C., Johnson City-Bristol, Tenn., Nashville, Tenn., and Frederick County, Md. are also facing the deadline.

In Denver's case, it is a big job, but achievable, experts say.

State health officials ask people to do little things, such as not spilling gasoline at the pump, waiting to refuel until after dusk, when the vapors have less time to cook into ozone, and trading in old gasoline-powered mowers for newer models.

Clean air advocates say there should also be changes in the growing oil and gas fields north of Denver.

"Oil and gas is kind of the last virtually unregulated source of air pollution in the state," said Jeremy Nichols, a volunteer for Rocky Mountain Clear Air Action.

Greg Schnacke, executive vice president of the Colorado Oil and Gas Association, said the industry spent $20 million in Colorado over the past few years to curb escaped gases. Old clunkers on the road are a bigger problem, he said, and forcing any industry to spend millions more on questionable solutions doesn't make sense.

Patton said regardless of the cause or the cures, something must be done.

"Smog pollution problems are no longer confined to urban Denver, but reach far across the Colorado Front Range," she said. "The reality is that we need a comprehensive solution."

___

On the Net:

Government ozone readings: http://www.airnow.gov