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Tuesday, August 19, 2008
EPA Issues List of Midwest Counties It Plans to Name as Not Meeting New, Health-Based Soot Standard
Comtex
CHICAGO, Aug 19, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ ----U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 today issued a list of 76 counties that it plans to name as not meeting the new, health-based 24-hour outdoor air quality standard for fine particles (soot). Counties that do not meet national outdoor air quality standards are called nonattainment areas.
Five of Region 5's six states have counties on the list. They are: Illinois with 14 counties, Indiana with 19 counties, Michigan with 9 counties, Ohio with 28 counties and Wisconsin with 6 counties. Minnesota has no counties on the list. Nationwide, EPA intends to name 215 counties in 25 states as not meeting the new standard. The names of the counties and additional information are at www.epa.gov/pmdesignations.
The new standard is designed to protect the public from exposure to these tiny particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller. By comparison, a human hair is about 70 microns in diameter. The new 24-hour outdoor standard is 35 micrograms per cubic meter. The old 24-hour standard was 65 micrograms per cubic meter.
EPA Regional Administrator Lynn Buhl sent letters today to the governors of the six regional states notifying them of EPA's designation plans.
"Work to meet the new standard has already begun," Buhl said. "EPA has taken steps to reduce fine particle pollution across the country, in particular the National Clean Diesel Campaign. We expect this program, which promotes the use of cleaner diesel technology, fuels and improved vehicle operation among our state, local, non-profit and private sector partners, to reduce emissions from highway, non-road and stationary engines. EPA Region 5 is participating in the national campaign through its Midwest Clean Diesel Initiative."
EPA is seeking comments from states on the list of counties that it plans to designate as having or contributing to this air quality problem. EPA also plans to open a 30-day public comment period on its intended designations. It intends to make final designation decisions by Dec. 18. Information on how to make comments on the designations will be published in the Federal Register.
Fine particles have been associated with a range of serious adverse health effects, including aggravation of lung disease, asthma attacks and heart problems. EPA believes that airborne fine particles cause tens of thousands of premature deaths across the United States each year. In addition, exposure to them results in tens of thousands of hospitalizations as well as millions of sick days and doctor visits.
SOURCE U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5
http://www.epa.gov/pmdesignations/
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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No, it's not a dance craze. Contago is a condition of supply and demand, essentially a fancy word to say that prices for items, typically commodities, are cheaper now than they would be at some point down the line.
Anything that¿s sold in the futures market can be in a case of contango. Futures are exactly that: a contract to buy an item or asset at a price in the future. This is the case with oil, with traders buying and selling contracts to acquire a barrel of oil in months down the line. When a market is in contango, spot prices, or the price of a commodity if you were to buy it right now, are lower than forward prices.
Why is that important? Well, it usually tells you the supply of a given commodity is plentiful (since, according to Economics 101, a large supply usually leads to cheap prices).
Incidentally, if you think contango is a mouthful, its opposite condition is known by the equally tongue-tying term backwardation.
