THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, August 2, 1995 TAG: 9508020458
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SCOTT HARPER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 93 lines
Remarkably, Hampton Roads has eluded a federal smog violation during this record heat wave - a feat experts attribute to favorable winds, dormant plant life, reformulated gasoline, and a little luck.
July is historically when excessive ground ozone, or smog, peaks in the region. The chemical reaction that creates smog from paint fumes, solvents and industrial and auto emissions accelerates under summer's intense sunlight and heat.
Hot weather was to blame for the last big air pollution boom, in July 1993, when the region suffered three violations of national health standards as defined by the federal Clean Air Act.
With temperatures surpassing 90 degrees for 21 straight days, experts across Virginia expected Hampton Roads to register at least one violation, and thus trigger new and expensive sanctions from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
But so far, local air quality has remained surprisingly good, according to state environmental statistics. And with the arrival of August, during which only five smog violations have been recorded in the past 15 years, officials are cautiously optimistic that they may have dodged a huge bullet.
``If we can slide through this, it would be a real achievement,'' said Dwight Farmer, director of transportation for the Hampton Roads Planning District Commission, which closely monitors local smog readings. ``Frankly, I was betting we wouldn't make it.''
Richmond, which also is under EPA scrutiny for heavy summer smog, has not been so lucky. The capital has scored two smog violations to date, including one Monday, said Dan Salkovitz, a state smog forecaster.
Salkovitz thought Hampton Roads would surpass the federal standard July 15. His office issued an advisory to local residents and businesses in hope they would curtail smog-causing activities during the midday heat. Activities include filling up cars with gasoline, mowing the lawn and painting outdoors.
Richmond experienced a violation that day, but Hampton Roads stayed below the clean-air threshold.
``I really can't tell you why,'' Salkovitz said. ``Sometimes when it seems obvious that you'll have an excedence you don't. And conversely, when you think conditions are safe, you get one. This is an inexact science at best.''
Hampton Roads has plenty to lose this summer smog season. If one violation is noted at any of the three air-quality monitoring stations in the region, sanctions, including mandatory tailpipe inspections and new emission limits on businesses, are likely to follow.
Local officials have estimated that new sanctions would cost the region about $130 million a year in added costs and technology, or about $240 per family.
On the other hand, if the region experiences zero violations this year, officials could petition the EPA to remove Hampton Roads from a list of smoggy cities that includes Los Angeles, Houston, Richmond and Northern Virginia.
Under EPA rules, a city can petition if it records no more than three smog violations over three consecutive years. Hampton Roads had three violations in 1993, zero in 1994 and none so far this year.
One of the best explanations for the surprisingly low smog readings this summer is the weather, officials and experts said.
While smog accelerates under intense heat and sunlight, steady wind and humidity seem to calm its unhealthy accumulation, said Frank Daniel, regional director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality.
With sea breezes pushing inland from Virginia Beach and westerly winds blowing in from central Virginia, the air mass over Hampton Roads has remained busy, not allowing smog to gather strength or linger, experts said.
And for the first time this year, cleaner-burning, reformulated gasoline is being sold at the pump. Officials say the new mix, with its lower emissions, is certainly making an impact as well.
Another theory centers on heat-stressed plants and trees. Most greenery naturally emits hydrocarbons, a building block of smog. With the recent oppressive heat, plants have slowed down their natural cycle and are releasing fewer hydrocarbons. Or so the theory goes.
In Hampton Roads, plants and trees contribute 19 percent of hydrocarbons to the atmosphere, according to state reports.
And then there are the intangibles, such as blind luck.
``We've been very lucky, what can you say,'' Farmer said. ``We've managed to get conditions that have counteracted the really hot days. Why that is, no one can really say.'' MEMO: If one violation is noted at any of the region's three air-quality
monitoring stations, sanctions, including mandatory tailpipe inspections
and new emission limits on businesses, are likely to follow.
New sanctions would cost the region an estimated $130 million a year
in added costs and technology, or about $240 per family.
ILLUSTRATION: Chart
Smog levels during the heat wave
KEYWORDS: AIR POLLUTION by CNB