State Investigations Show Reductions in Cooling Tower Emissions 

Three years ago, GHASP reviewed 12 state investigations of cooling water towers in the Houston area conducted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) in 2002 and 2003. We found that measured emissions exceeded the permitted, grandfathered, or otherwise accepted rate by 138%.¹ In reviewing 20 investigations conducted roughly a year later, GHASP found that measured emissions were about 76% less than the accepted rate. In other words, TCEQ investigations indicate that in 2002-03 cooling towers were emitting far more than expected, but in 2004-05, they were emitting less than expected.

Ethics, Threshold Limit Values, and Community Air Pollution Exposures*

Jim Tarr, P.E.

IN THIS ARTICLE:
Air Pollution and Health
Threshold Limit Values
Air Pollution Control and TLVs
Health Effects at the TNRCC
Ethical Considerations

Industry Violations of New Rule Almost Slid Under State's Radar

Houston-area industrial facilities have regularly violated a key air pollution regulation during the first two months it has been in effect. Their failure to comply with the new rule – which sets an hourly limit on specific emissions – places the region’s strategy for reducing ozone smog at risk. Yet the state’s environmental agency has only recently begun investigating the incidents.