January 25, 2005 6:40 AM

Will it change anything? Who knows? It is a step in the right direction....

Mayor unveils first specific actions on air toxics issue: New plan would monitor plants along their fences

This is not something against our refining and petrochemical industry. [This] is a new program to cut pollution and hold polluters accountable.

  • Houston Mayor Bill White

Say what you will about Houston Mayor Bill White, the man cannot be accused of being a slacker. Above anything else, White seems determined to make a difference, which in and of itself sets him apart from Houston’s previous Top Dawg, Lee Brown.

Of course, being an activist means taking risks, and taking risks means making mistakes. No one could reasonably describe Houston’s new SafeClear program as a success, but it’s still early, and White should at least get an “A” for effort.

Now White is taking on the many toxic industrial plants in and around the city. In the wake of the recent Houston Chronicle special series, In Harm’s Way, White announced in his State of the City address yesterday that Houston will begin to take steps to demonstrate that it is getting serious about reducing toxic emissions.

Taking his strongest stance yet on the city’s air pollution problems, Mayor Bill White on Monday said the city would set up an air pollution monitoring network along the fences of some of the region’s industrial plants to track down companies contributing to risky levels of carcinogenic chemicals in city air.

“We will begin to place air quality monitors outside the plant gates of those firms most likely identified as the source of these excess levels of air toxics,” White said in his second annual State of the City address.

“I don’t want to wait two or three years,” the mayor later said in a briefing. “I don’t care who does it, but if somebody doesn’t do it quick, we are going to do it.”

The new air quality initiative √≥ one of two unveiled by the mayor for his second year in office √≥ is aimed at addressing “needs we’ve swept under the rug for too long,” he said.

While White applauded business community efforts to cut smog, he said “we cannot ignore air toxics,” a group of 188 chemicals linked to cancer and other serious health effects.

Of course, the city by itself has little authority when it comes to dealing with toxic emissions from industrial plants. What White is hoping for is that the state of Texas and the federal government will step in to lend both moral authority and enforcement muscle to the city’s efforts. Of course, Houston is hardly the only local government in need of dealing with polluters. Suburbs such as Pasadena, Baytown, and Deer Park also need to wake up and smell the cat litter. Being the mayor of the fourth-largest city in the US, White recognizes that it’s going to fall to him to take the lead on this issue. To his credit, he is doing exactly that.

No one should assume that breathing in Houston will cease to be a risky and sometimes dangerous activity. Finally, though, someone in a position of authority is standing up and demanding something resembling accountablity from industry.

This is not an issue that impacts only the city of Houston. Toxic industrial emissions neither know nor respect boundaries. Those of us who live in Houston’s outlying suburbs bear the risks posted by this pollution on a daily basis. I’m grateful that Mayor White seems to be remembering that his primary responsibility is to people, not industry. Before any of us become too excited, though, let’s remember that the proof will definitely be in the pudding. WILL industry do anything to clean up their act and reduce toxic emissions? Stay tuned….

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This page contains a single entry by Jack Cluth published on January 25, 2005 6:40 AM.

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