An environmental group on Wednesday called for the federal government to toughen smog limits. A state official, however, said Virginia's air has been improving for years.
"Virginians deserve clean air," said Caroline Kory, state associate for the group, Environment Virginia. "But on far too many days, children and seniors in the Richmond metropolitan area are exposed to dangerous smog pollution."
High levels of ozone, the main pollutant in smog, can cause lung damage and aggravate ailments such as asthma. Children and the elderly are particularly at risk.
In a news conference in the Capitol, Kory was joined by Del. Jennifer L. McClellan, D-Richmond, and Glen Besa, director of the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club.
Ozone has hit unhealthy levels locally 11 days this year. It did so on 10 days last year. The Richmond area is the second-smoggiest region in the state, behind traffic-clogged Northern Virginia.
But Bill Hayden, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Quality, said Virginia's air has been getting cleaner for a decade or more. For example, ozone in Richmond hit the unhealthy mark 26 times in 2001 and 47 times in 2002.
"That's what we are trying to build on, making sure we can continue that improvement," Hayden said.
President Barack Obama on Sept. 2 sided with business interests and withdrew an Environmental Protection Agency plan to toughen ozone limits.
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