TCEQ Air Quality Study States No Health Concerns in Midlothian

Oct. 1, 2010 - PRLog -- TCEQ Air Quality Study Concludes No Health Concerns in Midlothian
Industry Emissions Are Not at Issue

City of Midlothian, Texas:    The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has completed a long-awaited study of air quality in Midlothian and concluded that concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and toxic metals from area industry do not threaten the public’s health and safety.  On Tuesday, October 5, the environmental agency will host an informational meeting in Midlothian to answer questions about the study’s methodology and findings.  

Welcomed by the City of Midlothian, TCEQ launched its year-long program of extensive monitoring in  fall, 2008.  Ambient air samples were taken from eight sites.  Four sampling locations were fixed, and four were rotating. Sites were selected on the basis of their downwind location from industry as well as their proximity to schools and parks.  The study measured twenty-two different kinds of toxic metals and thirteen volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

“The results of this study should be reassuring to everyone.  All toxic compounds tested for measured well within the State’s established levels for safe exposure,” stated Boyce Whatley, Midlothian mayor.

“Midlothian’s air quality has been tested multiple times over the past 25 or so years,” said Mayor Whatley.  “Repeatedly, these studies have shown that our air is safe.  The positive findings of this study are especially welcome because this was one of the most technically involved of the studies completed to-date.”

City officials maintained a strong interest in the study.  “Public safety is mission critical,”  said City Manager Don Hastings.  “With TCEQ’s encouragement, we asked Midlothian residents to form a focus group to offer input into the study’s design and methodology.  The group emphasized the need to test air quality near local schools and parks, and the importance of filling in data gaps, such as chromium VI.  

The collection and analysis of air samples was conducted by the URS Corporation under a contract with TCEQ.  For each sampling quarter, 24-hour samples were collected for five consecutive days at five different sampling locations.  One sampling day each quarter coincided with the routine sampling at the existing TCEQ Community Air Monitoring Station (known as CAMS 52) that for years has been positioned downwind from two Midlothian industries.  The new sampling results corroborated the historical sampling results—lending credibility to both.

Impetus for the current study came from a 2007 health study review conducted by the Texas Department of State Health Services (TDSHS).  That study did not involve the collection and analysis of new air samples.  Rather, the TDSHS study was a scientific review of past toxicology and epidemiology studies.  Its purpose was to determine whether existing information about Midlothian’s air quality indicated any public safety  concerns.  Even though the health-related findings of the TDSHS study were largely positive, the study’s conclusion was “indeterminate” because no historical data existed for chromium VI.  

Accordingly, a key objective of the current TCEQ study was to measure, for the first time, ambient concentration levels of Chromium VI.  City officials were especially pleased that the current TCEQ study found Chromium VI levels at all sampling sites to fall within safe levels.

   Just prior to the study, one cement plant idled two operating wet kilns indefinitely due to the economic downturn.  Some citizens expressed concern that this study would be able to capture the same levels of pollutants emitted previously.   In order to address this concern, all relevant historical data from monitoring as far back as 2001 was factored into the study.  Scientific analysis found that today’s data is consistent with the older data, alleviating those concerns.

The TCEQ will host an informational meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 5, 2010, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at the Midlothian Conference Center to answer questions regarding the study and its results.  The meeting format is “come and go,” and both TCEQ and City staff will be present.  

Additional information about the study can be obtained at the TCEQ website:  http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/implementation/tox/research/m....  Interested persons may also contact the City of Midlothian at 972-775-7195 or www.midlothian.tx.us .

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