Breathing uneasily

More state oversight is needed for placement of concrete batch plants.

We tend to take for granted our ability to breathe in clean air. But recent dire examples of citizens in India and China wearing masks against lead-gray skies show us that without continued vigilance, Houstonians could lose this basic human right.

Unfortunately, in Texas sometimes it can seem like the watchdog agency is on the side of the polluters, a perception that was cemented when the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in December reduced the public comment period for air permits for concrete batch plants from 45 days to 30. The change was requested by a concrete-industry trade association, as reported by The Texas Observer.

These so called “batch” plants aren’t built in upscale neighborhoods. The costs would be too high, the outrage too great. The change — which went into effect Jan. 1 — will affect disadvantaged neighborhoods. It will make it more difficult for those living in low-income areas to organize and express their opposition to the construction of these plants.

The residents of disadvantaged communities who have been historically disengaged in the public process need more time to gather and collectively express their opinion, not less.

It’s difficult to imagine our city without concrete. Concrete plants produce the building materials needed to handle the explosive growth that has characterized our region for so long. But in addition to being noisy, these plants also produce fine particles of cement dust that can leave people’s eyes feeling itchy and their throats scratchy and dry. The production of concrete shouldn’t be allowed to materially degrade residents’ quality of life.

In a letter dated Aug. 15 to the TCEQ asking for a vote against the rule change, Mayor Sylvester Turner pointed out “there are currently 18 concrete batch facilities in a four-mile radius within the socio-economically disadvantaged Houston Super Neighborhoods of Central/Southeast, South Acres/Crestmont Park and Minnetex.” According to the mayor, these neighborhoods not only experience pollution from these sources but also from 13 metal-recycling facilities.

Particulate air pollution is not merely irritating. Turner’s statement goes on to say that it’s unsurprising that each of these neighborhoods is within a “high risk of asthma attack and cardiac arrest” area, according to the American Journal of Preventative Medicine and Public Health.

The TCEQ should provide more oversight to the placement of these plants and do more to prevent their concentrations in low-income areas. Breathing clean air is a basic human right, one the state should protect.

Particulate air pollution is not merely irritating.