The new air quality standards for ozone announced by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on March 14 aren’t strong enough to safeguard public health and the environment on either side of the border, according to the Ontario Ministry of Environment.

The provinical government is reacting to the EPA’s decision to reject the recommendation put forth by its own Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee to aggressively lower the ozone standards.

A press release states that the government feels the standards aren’t strong enough to safeguard public health and the environment.

Although the revised ozone standards of 75 parts per billion (ppb) are an improvement over the old US standards, these new standards are still weaker than those currently used in Canada. Ground-level ozone is one of the main ingredients in smog and is a serious health threat, especially to children and seniors. There are no safe levels of smog; even at low levels ground level ozone can be harmful. Ozone can also cause damage to crops, other vegetation and forested ecosystems.

Smog is also a problem in many Ontario cities, particularly those near the Canada-US border. On hot summer days, over half of Ontario’s ozone comes from sources in the US. Due to wind and proximity, Ontario cannot sufficiently control its own ozone levels without co-operation from the United States.

“There’s nothing as basic as clean air, whether you live in Ontario or Pennsylvania or New York,” said Environment Minister John Gerretsen. “A more protective standard from the United STates EPA, closer to the one we have in Canada, would have meant fewer smog days for people on both sides of the border.”

Gerretsen went on to say that Ontario is taking real steps to clean the air.

“We are phasing out coal, building public transit and have capped smog causing emissions from industry,” he added.