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Here at Dumpster Rental, Pensacola, FL, we are waste management specialists in Florida and we are concerned with pollution issues. That’s why we want to help make Pensacola cleaner.
Pensacola, Florida is known for its beautiful beaches, parks, and fun nightlife. But right above these beautiful scenes are tiny particles that cause a number of problems for the environment and for people’s health.
Hydrochloric acid, ammonia, methanol, and arsenic are just some of the many toxic chemicals that are put into the air in Pensacola every year. There are many possible health risks that come with these toxins, which will be talked about later.
The Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) program of the Environmental Protection Agency says that the zip code 32514 releases more than 20 million pounds of chemical toxins every year.
The zip code includes all of Brent, Ferry Pass, and a small part of Pace. There are 14 different places to blame for the chemical pollution in that area.
On the TRI programme website, it says that these facilities released 28,739,788 pounds of toxic waste in 2019. 674,925 pounds of this amount were put into the air.
To protect human health and the environment, the U.S. The Environmental Protection Agency has set the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for six criteria pollutants: carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide, “says the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP).
To stop the spread of these chemical pollutants, most businesses and facilities are required to have an air operation permit. However, some businesses can be exempt from this rule. These exemptions depend on “the possibly applicable regulations, the size of the equipment, and the level of emissions” from these businesses.
According to the FDEP, small businesses can choose not to get a permit under the Florida Administrative Code (FAC). That means that smaller businesses don’t have to get permits that spell out the rules and conditions meant to protect the air quality in Florida.
Each facility has a permit that only lets it do what it does. The Air Permit tells each facility what rules and requirements they must follow and what will happen if they don’t.
When dealing with non-compliance, the FDEP thinks about a number of things. The FDEP’s manager of external affairs, Brandy Smith, said this about what would happen if people didn’t follow the rules:
When deciding which option is best, the nature of the violation, how it affects the environment, and how well it has been followed in the past are all taken into account. If there is a violation, the department may be able to get the problem fixed informally.
If someone broke the law by accident or because they didn’t know it was against the law, or if the violation didn’t cause more than “minor harm,” the best way to fix it is for them to get back into compliance quickly without formal enforcement. An unintentional violation is one that happens even though the person responsible tried his or her best to follow the rules.
If it is decided that more formal enforcement is needed, department staff can go after administrative or civil penalties and corrective actions. The purpose of penalties is to make sure that the person being punished and others who may be in a similar situation in the future follow the rules right away and in the future as well.
Even though there are penalties, there is no rule that says how many times a place can break the rules before it has to close. The penalties can get worse if the facility keeps not following the rules. This means that a facility can keep running even if it doesn’t follow the rules set up to protect the health and environment of the people of Florida. It will just have to pay fines. Rarely is there a chance that these places will be shut down.
Experts also say that the FDEP can try to get “injunctive relief” for violations that keep happening. According to the Legal Information Institute, injunctive relief is “a remedy that stops a party from doing something or makes a party do something.” It is usually only used when there is no other legal way to help, and if the relief is not given, it will cause irreparable harm.
Permanent injunctions, which basically shut down a facility, can be part of the court’s final decision, but this happens very rarely. Since 2010, there has only been one request for a court order to stop someone from breaking the Clean Air Act, and it was not a permanent order.
When asked how not following the rules affects the public and the environment, the FDEP said that Florida’s legislature has “passed laws that limit or ban activities that may cause pollution, harm the state’s resources, or threaten human health or safety.” The department is dedicated to doing its job and upholding Florida’s environmental laws to protect people and the environment.
So, what are the risks for facilities that don’t follow the rules and laws of Florida?
The TRI programme says that hydrochloric acid (27%), sulfuric acid (20.9%), styrene (19.5%), ammonia (12.4%), and other toxins (15.4%) are the top five air pollutants in 32514. The percentages show how much of the total number of toxins released each chemical is responsible for.
There are risks to health and the environment that come with these chemicals. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says that people who have been or are being exposed to “toxic air pollutants at sufficient concentrations and for long enough periods of time may have a higher chance of getting cancer or other serious health problems. Some of these health effects include damage to the immune system, neurological, reproductive (like less fertility), developmental, respiratory, and other health problems.
The air quality in Pensacola is getting better, and there are fewer dangerous pollutants in the air. But there are still risks to the public’s health that people need to know about.
Health issues are also a worry when it comes to the environment. Animals can get sick from polluted air in the same way that people can. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) says that toxins in the air cause animals to have birth defects, have trouble reproducing, and get sick. This can hurt the variety of wildlife.
A review on the website of the National Centre for Biotechnology Information says that eutrophication can be caused by chemical air pollution. This happens when there are a lot of nutrients in the water, which makes algae grow. This upsets the balance between the different kinds of fish and may cause their death rates to go up.
Air pollution has other effects on the environment, like making global climate change and “haze” worse. When small particles are released into the air, they make it harder to see. This is called haze. According to the review we just talked about, “Gas emissions from factories, power plants, cars, and trucks” are what cause haze.
The air pollution is almost palpable at the University of West Florida, which is close to the centre of 32514. I talked to a couple of students at the university to find out if the pollution from factories close by affects their daily lives.
A sophomore at the university, Jessica Ethridge, said that when she walks on the campus nature trails, she can “not only see but also smell grey masses of smoke” coming from the mill just off campus. When asked how Etheridge felt about the pollution in the air in Pensacola, she said that she just wanted to stop breathing. Etheridge also said, “Knowing that too much pollution is being put into the air I breathe every day really makes me wonder how clean our air is. The fact that people are to blame for this pollution worries me even more. “
Hunter Brown, who was born and raised in Pensacola and now goes to college there, talked about his experiences with air pollution. He said that the smoke from the Gulf power plant sometimes creates a haze over the university campus and makes everything smell like smoke.
Brown went to high school at Tate, which is near the International Paper Co. mill. He said, “The air quality is bad, and the smell of rotten eggs coming from the plant is very, very common.” He also said, “The paper mill makes the whole canton area always smell like garbage.”
There are 42,444 people who live in the area code 32514, where these two people live and breathe the dirty air. This means that air pollution affects almost 50,000 people every day in just one part of Florida.
This kind of pollution is dangerous and needs to be stopped right away. When people break the rules and laws that are in place to protect the people and environment of Florida, they should get more than a slap on the wrist.