European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 9, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                , America s new gasp poll by Scott Mccartney associated Pressl Ike Many before them. Janice and Dennis Hall packed i heir lives into a u haul and on doctors advice beaded from Ohio to the desert Southwest seeking clean air and a fresh Start of i hair Asl malic son but when the Halls topped Iho mountains hat surround Phoenix ariz., they saw a Ollow Brown Cloud of pollutants hanging Over inc City they had thought was pure. Ii was  mrs halt recalled. My husband did l even have a Job and i thought. This is what we be come to7 look Ai this place " smog is something los Angeles and Northern Industrial cities have Long Bat lied of after decades of lax regulation and unbridled growth Many Sunbelt cities Are waking to the noxious hangover of pollution. Phoenix now has the worst Carbon monoxide pollution in the Nalion according to the environment pre Lection Agency. A the Winter the Valley of the Sun often lies beneath the ugly Shadow of cute oct dust engine exhaust Ozone and other harmful pollutants we sum have people moving to this area believing it is a better area Enron mentally. It s the Southwest wide open space and they assume it s got to be a healthy place to live. Thai is not the Case said Jay Schied president of the Arizona lung association in Phoenix. Other areas along the nation s southwestern tier places As diverse As Arizona s tranquil desert and Louisiana s murky bayous Are also grappling with pollution i roubles Sellers waste pits sewage systems toxic dumps Wood smoke and clogged freeways those Public sores and blemishes nol Only threaten the environment exports say. But also undermine Selling Points such As the Region s image of robust health and its relaxed Low regulation pro business Altitude there Are now typos of pollution in All the major Western cities said Larry Gordon the Albuquerque n.m., health director. That s what happens when you get several Hundred thousand people together doing their things the problems in the nation s now pollution Belt Are As varied As the geography to Arizona Carbon monoxide in excess of Federal standards has a fought a Throat to Cut $500 million in Highway funds. This Spring the slalom approved a tougher Auto emissions testing program. Bui a capper smeller with no pollution control equipment spews ions of Sulphur dioxide into the desert. To close the Plant would Cost jobs. In new Mexico the Epa has withheld $320.000 in anti pollution funds because of Albuquerque s poor air Quality. The cily has resisted Federal pressure for an Auto emissions program. In Texas rapid Urban growth has stretched sewage treatment plans beyond capacity. Raw sewage is sometimes dumped Inlo Rivers fines Are sometimes assessed. In Oklahoma and Arkansas authorities Are struggling to clean up chemical Wasle Sites some of which have been leaking Lor years. And in Louisiana decades of unregulated Oil and chemical Industry activities have Lett hundreds of hazardous waste Sites and numerous polluting plans. The Sites state officials say Are threatening the ground water but their expensive cleanups must Wail because of a state budget crisis. I Don t think we be even seen the tip of the iceberg on environmental cleanup in Louisiana said Patricia Norton Secretary of the Louisiana department of environmental Quality. I Don t think it s too late yet but in a few More years Well be past the Point of no  1twa� lha reputation for clean air that Drew the Halls and thousands before them to Phoenix. Bui the explosive growth of the last is years coupled with inadequate Highway and mass transit systems has tainted the City s air. Phoenix has Carbon monoxide dust Ond Ozone pollution Ihal s often More than double the healthy level established under 1977 amendments to the 1970 clean air act officials said. Epa data show Phoenix has the nation s most Carbon monoxide violations with los Angeles and Denver ranked second anal third said Imants Krese the Epa Dis incl program manager in san Francisco. Carbon monoxide comes primarily from vehicle exhausts and can thealon people who Havo hear i disease by inhibiting the blood s ability to carry oxygen. The Epa allows cities Only one violation per year in 1984, one hot spot Monitor located near a Busy Phoenix intersection peaked above the Federal Standard 119 limes. It s fair to characterize Ilas a problem Ihal s growing right now in Phoenix said Krese without quibbling Over details it s definitely one of Ito worst Carbon monoxide problems in the nation " Stato and local of Licals disagree Wilh the Epa contending that the hot spot a a skews the situation and in ignored Phoenix would rank about third besides hiding Mountain vistas participates such As the naturally occurring desert Dusl exceeded Epa standards in Phoenix about half the time Over the last 10 years the highest percentage in Iho country said Bob Evans chief of Tho air pollution control division of the county health department the dust problem has been exacerbated by the furious Pace of construction As heavy trucks and Earth movers churn dirt into the air from unpaved roads and building Sites spores carried in the pollution can cause a fungus disease called Cocciadi Mycosis or Valley  in its mild stage Valley Ever has the same symptoms As a common cold but can Worsen to a pneumonia like lung disease and if the fungus spreads untreated can be Fafa. Doctors said. The pollution can also aggravate conditions Tor asthma and allergy patients. The Halls Tfirn l know about desert Dusl and the severe pollution when they Letl Columbus Ohio last fan with their three children including 6-year-old Ben an asthmatic who was dependent on steroids. On bad Days. Mrs. Hall said. Ban must slay inside. He s shown some improvement because of the dry climate she said but still has difficulty breathing. To Worsen mailers. Hall Ioe his health insurance from his $12-an-hour Ohio Job and a new policy at his$9-atv hour Phoenix Job won t cover Ben s pre existing condition until september. This was not the answer she said As far As everyone Back East coming Here no no no. The doctors said we had to get him to Phoenix and when we go Here the doctors said we should t have  in Albuquerque a 40-foot Candle atop a prominent building turns red on Winter Days when air Quality deteriorates to unhealthy Levels. The Valley cily is often shrouded under the Brown Cloud a mixture of Auto emissions and smoke from Wood burning fireplaces. The Cloud is obviously an aos lactic problem and it May be a health  said Gordon director of Albuquerque s environmental health and Energy department. While the Epa has yet to Issue Brown Cloud standards it has decided Albuquerque s Carbon monoxide pollution is a health problem. The Agency withheld $320,000 in Federal anti pollution funds because of local resistance to clean up programs and has threatened to Cut Oft $23 million in Highway funds. Albuquerque area voters will decide in november whether to adopt a 2-Cenl-a-gallon gasoline tax to finance vehicle emissions tests. Mayor Ken Schultz has opposed a testing program contending the City which violated Epa Carbon monoxide limits Only four limes last year can meet Federal standards without it. The land around Mary Decastle s Baton Rouge la. Home was Farmland Lor years until 1969 when a Rollins environmental services waste dump and incinerator were built across Scenic Highway on the shores of the Mississippi River. Now the Trees in her front Yard Are Bare and tomatoes won t grow in her Garden. Mrs. Ivi Castle 70, has chronic sinus and respiratory disease that makes it difficult Lor her to talk. Her words came Between Short Raspy breaths As she described the foul smelling Black Smoko that comes from the Rollins Plant tagged by state officials As one of tha worst polluters in a Region full of dirty Petroleum and chemical industries. Early morning Blanket of pollution Drifting Over Plu Nix Tho Rollins people Are suffering us out mrs. Mccalla said. One time the smoke came Over so bad people were gagging in  the Plant is but one of 350 hazardous silos in Louisiana according to is. Norton Iho state s Chiet environmental officer. More than 2.3 million tons of pollutants Are pumped into Louisiana s atmosphere each year. The Lake beside the stale capital is posted with no fishing signs because of pollution. And until recently when the legislature took up the Issue Industry operated without much environmental supervision officials say. Although Louisiana has about the same number of waste Sites As new Jersey the Bayou stale has. Only six Epa superfund clean up projects while new Jersey has some 100 mostly because Louisiana waa not aggressive at trying to get Sites put on superfund is. Norton said. Waste in at least 100 Louisiana pits is slowly leaking toward groundwater sources and could eventually contaminate drinking water is. Norton said. But a single cleanup can Cost s1 million. Groundwater is going to be the single most important environmental Issue in the next 10 years said Norton Whoso budget has already been Cut in half in the fast three years. The big problem is that just about the time we woke up the Oil crash hit and we Don t have the  Page 14 the stars and stripes