Queens Flunks 6th Straight Pollution Test

High levels of air pollution are increasing the risk of premature death for nearly one million Queens residents for the sixth consecutive year, it was reported by the American Lung Association (ALA) last week.
Based on a three-year (2001-03), state and federal governmental air analysis, Queens is experiencing a worsening of air quality since last year’s report, according to the ALA’s “State of the Air: 2005” report.
Local residents are facing serious health risks by simply breathing, said Louise Vetter, the Association’s CEO. Lung diseases, such as asthma, emphysema and pneumonia are now the third-leading cause of death in the United States.
According to the ALA’s report, the local effects of increasing air pollution levels has a negative impact on nearly one half of Queens’ 2.2 million residents:
One light at the end of the tunnel could be anti-pollution legislation recently enacted by the City Council and awaiting signature by the mayor. Sparked by Councilmember James F. Gennaro, who heads the Council’s Environmental Committee, five bills were enacted last week mandating the use of new anti-pollution emission technology and ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel by city trucks and buses.
Calling the new laws the toughest clean-air legislation to come out of the City Council, Gennaro predicted that they will have a dramatic effect on improving the city’s air quality.
Meanwhile, local concerns point to the heightened air pollution potential of new diesel engine-powered projects scheduled to be launched in Queens during the next five years. New plans have been approved permitting thousands of diesel-powered Sanitation Department trucks carrying millions of pounds of trash per day, six days per week, to newly-constructed marine transfer stations in Queens.
Victor Ross is a freelance writer.