Attachment IB – AZ Republic March 11, 2008 Editorial
Strategy can clear air over S. Phoenix
AZ Republic Editorial - Pollution woes can be fixed
Take a look in the skies over south Phoenix .
What you see is pollution.
The air over south Phoenix has been described as the center of the Valley's toxic universe.
But this week, hope is in the air.
Optimism. Cooperation. Commitment. Partnership. Neighbors. Those are good words. Promising words. Clean words. But still,
just words.
The welcome, hopeful commitment: to reduce hazardous air pollution emissions in south Phoenix by 20 percent over the next two
years. To cut down on those dangerous chemical leaks, accidents and emergencies, including fires, that have blackened the skies
and sickened residents in years past.
The strategy: bringing together industries, governmental regulators and interested community members in a regular collaborative
partnership to achieve healthier skies.
The effort, established through a federal Environmental Protection Administration grant, flips the regulatory procedure on its head.
It's called the Phoenix Industry Challenge and Good Neighbor Partnership.
It's about talking, training, mentoring; about regulators working with those businesses that have been among the primary polluters
in the area; and it's about working with those companies to switch to less toxic substances.
It's about companies mentoring other industries on ways to reduce emissions.
It's about residents regularly meeting with their industrial neighbors. And being trained in "odor detection" so they can monitor
pollution in their own neighborhoods.
It's also about Maricopa County government ramping up its air pollution department to meet these critical goals. Last year, the
county board voted to pull air quality functions out of the environmental services department, away from other public health
agencies into a separate entity, able to focus on air quality issues.
The effort has been years in the planning and development stage but was formally launched Tuesday with a formal signing
ceremony at the Goodrich Aircraft Interior Products plant in south Phoenix . Goodrich is one of more than 40 companies that signed
the pollution reduction pledge.
real as an asthma attack. Several studies have identified south Phoenix as a focus of asthma sufferers in the Valley. A national study
suggests Latinos are at greater risk from lead poisoning and pollution. Environmental concerns in south Phoenix have been a
central issue for state Rep. Leah Landrum and county Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox. Both have supported this initiative, which is
voluntary but speaks with promise and hope for a cleaner, better future.
