In the air, some surprises: Don't Breath Too Deeply

newsimg.bbc.co.uk..." border=0>

In the air, some surprises

Arsenic is one of the elements that told Jefferson County its air study would not be simple.

No industry in the area reports sending the poisonous and cancer-causing chemical out of its stacks. Yet when the county began new, sophisticated monitoring, there it was, at levels unacceptable to human health.

"It had never been reported before," said Corey Masuca, a senior air pollution control engineer at the Jefferson County Health Department. "We were quite surprised to find it in there."

The article continues:

Engineers at the Health Department would not have discovered the toxic metal at all if they had not decided to go beyond federal requirements and capture the air in industrial areas to identify more than 100 gases, metals and other invisible chemicals.

"It's a soup out there," said Randy Dillard, air monitoring supervisor. "All that stuff is coming from a multitude of various sources, and it's hard to separate it once it gets out in the air."

Arsenic was only one of the heavy metals found at unsafe levels. Cadmium, nickel and manganese also were trapped in the monitors. The Health Department also found 14 gases, including benzene and formaldehyde, at high levels.

More...

:shk:

What a joke...


[edit on 13-8-2006 by loam]

Engineers at the Health Department would not have discovered the toxic metal at all if they had not decided to go beyond federal requirements and capture the air in industrial areas to identify more than 100 gases, metals and other invisible chemicals.

That part gets me the most. Only by going beyond federal requirements.

How many places around the country monitor only by federal standards? Just how much of this stuff in the air that we dont know about?

Originally posted by Skadi_the_Evil_Elf
How many places around the country monitor only by federal standards?

Even better...how many in the country fail to even monitor *at* federal standards?