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NASA Images Show Decrease in Air Pollution, Increase in West Virginia Surface Mining

Satellite images from NASA and other government agencies can tell us a lot about the changing of the climate as well as the environment. Their photo…

Satellite images from NASA and other government agencies can tell us a lot about the changing of the climate as well as the environment. Their photo series State of Flux: Images of Change depicts noticeable differences in our world over various spans of time–looking at everything from water, air, natural disasters, as well as the impact of industry.

Here’s a few takeaways from these images that highlight West Virginia:

Air Pollution Down in West Virginia

Air pollution was down from 2005 to 2011 in the United States’ large northeast cities but also across states like West Virginia. The images from NASA show a decrease in nitrogen dioxide (NO2), which is depicted in each image as red. According to NASA, NO2 can cause “respiratory problems, contribute to the formation of other pollutants, and serve as a proxy for air pollution in general.”

Here NASA explains the reduction of NO2 and, thus, a reduction in air pollution in large U.S. cities as well as West Virginia:

"Thanks to regulations, technology improvements and economic changes, air pollution — including NO2 — has decreased despite an increase in population and number of cars on the roads. These images represent the improvement seen in the northeast corridor of the U.S., from Boston to Richmond, where some of the largest absolute changes in NO2 have occurred."

West Virginia Saw a Major Increase in Surface Mining, Mountaintop Removal

According to the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health Safety and Training, there are 200 surface mines currently permitted to operate in the state.

Satellite images from NASA show surface mining in West Virginia increased significantly between 1987 and 2011. These photos (taken by the Thematic Mapper sensor onboard Landsat 5 from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s U.S. Geological Survey) detail an area just north of Webster Springs.

Here NASA details the impact of surface mining and mountaintop removal on the environment and human health:

"More than half of the U.S.' electrical power comes from coal burning and a large percentage of that coal comes from West Virginia. Of the nearly 150 million tons of coal extracted each year from the state's mines, an increasing amount (60 million tons in 2009) comes from surface mining and mountaintop removal. Mountaintop removal can have serious impacts on the health of local people — through the pollution of groundwater by mine runoff and exposure to airborne toxins and dust — and on the environment — through permanent loss of critical ecosystems, destruction of forests and loss of streams. Scientific evidence suggests that these impacts are pervasive and irreversible and that efforts to reclaim the disturbed land can't make up for the impacts felt by the mining process."

WVU Researchers Ask: Are Lead Poisoned Vultures the New Canary in a Coal Mine?

A new study out of West Virginia University finds that lead poisoning in vultures is way more prevalent than expected. Researchers say the source of the lead is ammunition and coal-fired power plant emissions – prompting one researcher to liken vultures to the canaries miners once used to gauge if a coal mine was safe or not.

Finding Lead

“Bone acts as a sink,” said doctor of veterinary medicine, Jesse Fallon. He explained that bodies can mistake lead for calcium and suck it into the bone where it will stay for a long time, even years.

Fallon is the Director of Veterinary Medicine for the Avian Conservation Center of Appalachia which is a nonprofit that treats and rehabilitates injured, ill, or orphaned wild birds. Through this work and ecotoxicology training, Fallon has become an expert on lead poisoning.

"The presence of lead in these vultures is indicative of a threat that humans face," said researcher and now wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Todd Katzner. "We view these vultures as indicators, as canaries in the coal mine."

He was involved in the recent vulture study helping researchers understand the physiological ramifications of lead exposure, and how lead moves through the body and where to look for it.

That’s why Shannon Behmke cut into the femur bones of just over 100 vulture carcasses – to look for lead.

“Reading more of the literature I understood that most of these vultures would have lead exposure or signs of lead exposure within their organs, but the extent to which we found it in the femurs was incredible,” Behmke said.

Looking for the Source

Behmke, the lead author of the study, found evidence of significant lead exposure in every bone she examined, which indicates persistent exposure throughout the birds’ lives. Vultures typically live about ten years, so this study is an indicator of environmental exposures over the last decade. But that’s not all she was able to determine.

“We did isotope ratio analysis,” Behmke said. “It pretty much gives ideas of where the sources could be of this lead. And what we found were isotope ratios similar to those found in lead ammunition and also lead emission from coal fired power plants.”

Shannon Behmke, lead author on study of lead exposure in vultures.

There were a couple other sources, and isotope ratio analysis of lead is an inexact science, but Behmke says ammunition and coal-fired power plants seem to be the major sources of lead.

The New Canaries

“The presence of lead in these vultures is indicative of a threat that humans face,” said researcher and now wildlife biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey, Todd Katzner. “We view these vultures as indicators, as canaries in the coal mine.”

Katzner points out that vultures are obviously breathing the emissions that we breath. West Virginia had coal-fired generating units at 20 locations in 2005. Three have been retired, and American Electric Power says three more are supposed to go off line next month.

Katzner also says it’s also important to think about lead ammunition, especially in a state that harvested about 40,000 bucks during last year’s firearms season alone. Vultures often eat discarded gut piles. Most of those animals were killed with lead ammunition. Since that lead is making its way into the birds, Katzner says, chances are, it’s also probably making its way onto our tables. But even low levels of lead are dangerous.

Effects of Lead Exposure

Fallon explains that low levels of lead exposure can affect the body neurologically, in tissue and organs, and by impairing reproductive abilities. He explains that higher levels of lead exposure can cause anemia and neurological injury which can lead to blindness, seizures, weakness and even death. Fallon says this is certainly true for birds, but also for humans – especially children who are developing a nervous system.

The Centers for Disease Control reported that “at least 4 million households today have children living in them that are being exposed to high levels of lead.” CDC says no safe blood lead level in children has been identified. And since lead can affect nearly every system in the body, and leave no obvious symptoms, it frequently goes unrecognized. In a recent report the CDC wrote that compelling evidence shows that low levels of lead exposure are associated with IQ deficits, attention-related behaviors, and poor academic achievement.

Manchin Responds to Proposed Tightened Air Pollution Standards

The federal Environmental Protection Agency’s public comment period on proposed stricter ozone standards closes this week. Many health and medical professionals across the country are urging the EPA to adopt the standard. Meanwhile, West Virginia’s senator Joe Manchin introduced legislation that would block the measure.

A panel of science advisors to the EPA unanimously concluded that the agency should tighten ozone regulations. The American Lung Association says in a release that additional regulations would protect those most vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, including children, seniors and people with asthma and other chronic lung diseases.

But Senator Manchin says it’s too costly to the economy. He joined with the Republican senator from South Dakota, John Thune, in introducing the Clean Air, Strong Economies Act which would slow regulatory measures down.

In 2008 the permitted level of ground-level ozone, or smog, was lowered from 85 parts per billion to 75. The EPA is now proposing lowering that standard to within the range of 70-65 parts per billion. In a release, Manchin reports that industry estimates a 65 ppb standard would shut down approximately a third of all coal-fired power plant capacity.

Air Pollution Improving in West Virginia But, There's More Ozone

A report just released by American Lung Association, “State of the Air 2014,” shows air pollution in West Virginia’s metropolitan areas has generally improved but, there’s more ozone, or smog, in every county where it was measured.

Health Risks

Kevin Stewart, American Lung Association’s director of environmental health for the mid-Atlantic region, explains that particle pollution—sometimes called soot pollution—is the matter in the air expelled from sources like exhaust pipes or industrial plants. It’s the fine, microscopic dust sometimes small enough to pass directly into the blood streams through the lungs. And it can not only exacerbate respiratory health problems, but also cause heart problems.

“Most people don’t think about air pollution causing heart problems but it does,” Stewart said.

The Lung Association’s 2014 report indicates that the overall ambient air quality throughout the state with regard to particle pollution is improving, or at least throughout every county where it was measured. He says measures takes to clean up the air seem to be taking effect.

But then there’s ozone. Stewart says way up in the sky, ozone is a good thing. It protects us from harmful rays from the sun. But down here on the ground, it’s a major health hazard.

The State of the Air in West Virginia

The report indicates that ozone levels have pretty much gotten worse throughout the country. That’s true in West Virginia and especially in the Charleston-Huntington area, which ranked worst in the state.

Some grades around the state:

The Lung Assoication gave Kanawha County a D last year.
This year’s report combines Kanawha and Cabell counties with several others and gives the areas an F and D, respectively.
Other Counties that has worse ozone pollution than last year include Wood, Monongalia and Hancock.

You can find your town’s grade with this tool:

The American Lung Association says the worsening ozone levels likely can be attributed to warmer 2012 temperatures, reflecting national trends.

From the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection

The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection echoes the Lung Association’s reports saying air quality has and continues to improve, even in areas like the northern gas fields, despite increased drilling activity.

The DEP reports, however that there are issues with sulfur dioxide in Brooke and Marshall Counties related to large industrial sources like power plants that are located there. In fact the Lung Association’s report indicates that Marshall County was worst in the state for its long-term particle pollution level. That’s despite the fact that the Wheeling, WV-OH metro area had its lowest year-round particle pollution levels in the 15-year history (although it’s still 19^th-worst nationwide!).

Change Is (Still Needed) In The Air

Stewart, from the American Lung Association, says there are several things to remember when considering this data.

First of all, the system we have needs to be improved. Many counties with lower populations don’t require air monitoring, for example. Boone, McDowell, Mingo, and Wyoming, just to name a few. And in many of the areas where air quality is monitored, the actually monitoring might not take place in the most telling spots. And he says there are limits to the monitoring technology.

Moreover, Stewart says current air quality standards are still inadequate to protect public health.

“Even if you meet the standards,” he said, “you can still have adverse health effects from the air pollution. The Lung Association believes that we need to improve the air quality standards so that we don’t have that kind of scenario going on.”

No one will deny, Steward says, that the country today is not the same country it was 40 years ago. Standards have certainly improved. But he asserts that current circumscribed standards of air quality still leave the public footing many hidden health and standard of living costs.

What To Do:

The Lung Association lists several ways to personally combat bad air quality. Some of them include:

Drive less.Combine trips, walk, bike, carpool or vanpool, and use buses, subways or other alternatives to driving. Vehicle emissions are a major source of air pollution. Support community plans that provide ways to get around that don’t require a car, such as more sidewalks, bike trails and transit systems.

Use less electricity. Turn out the lights and use energy-efficient appliances. Generating electricity is one of the biggest sources of pollution, particularly in the eastern United States.

Don’t burn wood or trash. Burning firewood and trash are among the largest sources of particles in many parts of the country. If you must use a fireplace or stove for heat, convert your woodstoves to natural gas, which has far fewer polluting emissions. Compost and recycle as much as possible and dispose of other waste properly; don’t burn it. Support efforts in your community to ban outdoor burning of construction and yard wastes. Avoid the use of outdoor hydronic heaters, also called outdoor wood boilers, which are frequently much more polluting than woodstoves.

Make sure your local school system requires clean school buses, which includes replacing or retrofitting old school buses with filters and other equipment to reduce emissions. Make sure your local schools don’t idle their buses, a step that can immediately reduce emissions.