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What should have been about a five to ten minute City Council meeting took nearly 20 minutes to complete even though only one item was on the agenda. Diana Rawlins spoke to the council during the Public Forum about the subject of a scientific report linking smog exposure to premature death. According to her report, short-term exposure to smog, or ozone, is clearly linked to premature deaths that should be taken into account when measuring the health benefits of reducing air pollution, and those findings contradict arguments made by some White House officials that the connection between smog and premature death has not been shown sufficiently, and that the number of saved lives should not be calculated in determining clean air benefits. The National Academy of Sciences report released by a panel of the Academy’s National Research Council says government agencies “should give little or no weight” to such arguments.
“The committee has concluded from its review of the National Academy of Sciences health-based evidence that short-term exposure to ambient ozone is likely to contribute to premature deaths,” the 13-member panel said. It added that “studies have yielded strong evidence that short-term exposure to ozone can exacerbate lung conditions, causing illness and hospitalization and can potentially lead to death.” The panel examined short-term exposure – up to 24 hours – to high levels of ozone, but said more studies also were needed on long-term chronic exposure where the risk of premature death “may be larger than those observed in acute effects studies alone.” The Academy’s report “could have important consequences” on such future disputes, said lawyer Vicky Patton of the advocacy group Environmental Defence. She said the OMB in a number of air pollution regulations has sought to minimize the relationship of pollution and premature deaths, resulting in a lower calculation of health benefits from pollution reductions. “This has been used by industry to try to attack health standards by minimizing the social benefits,” said Patton. According to a chart also provided in her report, Navarro County shows a population of 49,440 people. At least 1,182 children suffer from Pediatric Asthma, 2,706 individuals suffer from Adult Asthma, 1,567 individuals suffer from Chronic Bronchitis, 691 individuals suffer from Emphysema, and 33 individuals have Lung Cancer. Vicki Prater presented a petition for council members to sign in an effort to require pre-construction air monitoring prior to the construction of the proposed power plant. Prater has already secured the signatures of county officials in her effort to ensure that monitoring will be done. Both Rawlins and Prater are members of separate groups opposing power plants. The lone item on Tuesday evenings agenda concerned the granting of a Specific Use Permit, as outlined in Chapter 12, Section 12.608, of the City’s Ordinances, for a Private Club located at 1140 North Business 45. This is the location of the Excalibur Club, which closed down operations a few months back. The owner of the club, Hadi Mazrooee, made the petition but sent a representative, Enrique Sanchez, to speak to the council in his behalf. According to the request, 11 notices were mailed out to surrounding property owners with one positive response and one negative response. Corsicana Planning and Zoning Board approved the SUP for the applicant with a one-year expiration date, but after careful consideration, the City Council reduced that time to six-months. At that time, the council will review the SUP. Mayor C.L. Brown asked the council to vote one way or the other, and after what seemed to be an eternity, Councilman Randy Dill made the motion to approve the measure, provided the council will review the SUP again in six-months. Councilman Stephen Andrews seconded the motion and the measure was put to a full vote with Councilwoman Ruby Williams the only member to vote against it. The measure passed 4-1. |
