The Nation - News from Aug. 9, 1988

Twenty-eight Eastern urban areas have recorded higher peak smog readings this summer than in the summer of 1987, increasing health risks for the elderly and other vulnerable groups, an environmental group said. The Sierra Club, reporting findings from a telephone survey of 24 state environmental agencies, also said 22 urban areas have had readings 50% above federal health standards for ozone, the primary pollutant in smog. Ozone is formed when nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbon emissions from cars and industrial sources “cook” and combine in sunlight. Sierra Club officials released the data as part of their lobbying effort to get Congress to toughen the Clean Air Act.