Tagged: air pollution

The federal government has strengthened the national air quality standard for soot and fine particle pollution.

The new standard is 20 percent more stringent than the current standard, which was set in 1997. It will require communities to make sure fine particle pollution is limited to 12 micrograms per cubic meter annually (the current limit is 15).

Parts of every city are smelly, occasionally. And in Louisville, several neighborhoods in particular have routinely complained about odors...like some areas of Butchertown near the JBS Swift slaughterhouse, and neighborhoods bordering chemical plants and factories in Rubbertown.

A local environmental attorney is challenging the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet over statements officials made earlier this week at a conference.

The contentious point revolves around a comment Energy and Environment Secretary Len Peters made during a session at the cabinet’s annual conference earlier this week. Here’s how his comments were summarized in a story by Jim Bruggers of the Courier-Journal.

A federal grant that directs more than $4 million to the Transit Authority of River City will help Louisville come into compliance with air quality standards.

So much for hopes that rainy weather would keep ozone levels in the Louisville Metro area in the normal range. The Air Pollution Control District is forecasting the air will be unhealthy for sensitive groups (like the elderly, the young, and those with heart and lung conditions) on Thursday.

Ozone levels are expected to be high, and the Air Quality Index is predicted to be 106.