https://enviro.epa.gov/triexplorer/msa.html?pYear=2018&pLoc=50&pParent=TRI&pDataSet=TRIQ1
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX ranks 113 out of 909 urban areas in the country based on total releases per square mile.
The following charts represent releases of TRI-covered chemicals to the environment in the metropolitan area of San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX. The TRI defines “release” of a chemical to mean that it is emitted to the air or water, placed in some type of land disposal, or transferred off-site for disposal or release. Overall, the release of production-based waste has decreased in the last 15 years in the San Antonio region, although the trend has not been a steady decline in recent years.
Waste Emitters Report
Calaveras Power Station
Description: Electric Power Generation, T&D
The Calaveras Power Station is composed of a series of three power plants operated by CPS Energy. They are located near Calaveras Lake in Bexar County, TX.
Waste Releases: 1,408,333 lbs
Waste Managed: 2,380,346 lbs
San Miguel Electric Cooperative Inc
Description: Electric Power Generation, T&D
lignite-fueled power plant with 391 MW net capacity. Sells through a Wholesale Power Contract with South Texas Electric Cooperative.
Waste Releases: 696,517 lbs
Waste Managed: 696,517 lbs
Commercial Metals Company, Steel and Rebar
Description: Iron and Steel Mills and Ferroalloy Manufacturing
Previously Steel Metals, Inc.
CMC Steel is responsible for all scrap purchases for the steel mill. The CMC Rebar plant in San Antonio is part of the national concrete reinforcing steel fabricator, CMC.
Waste Releases: 564,123 lbs
Waste Managed: 8,658,342 lbs
EJ Fine Particulates Index
San Antonio’s air doesn’t look dirty, but the truth is that it has surpassed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) health-based clean air standards. The percentile of PM 2.5 particulates in the San Antonio Metropolitan Area is in the 90th percentile for the United States. Air quality in San Antonio has been steadily getting worse for several years, climbing to 81 parts per billion in 2013 from the baseline of 75 parts per billion in 2010. This number declined slightly in 2014 to 80 parts per billion, but is still significantly off target from the 2020 goal of 68 parts per billion. The clusters for higher vulnerability tend to happen further south from the city center. What mostly accounts for the regional differences are actually transportation omissions from people that have to commute back and forth from suburb to city.
The City’s plans to meet and exceed state and federal air quality standards rely on control measures that reduce emissions associated with transportation facilities. New sustainability programs focus on reducing direct emissions from vehicle activity. San Antonio’s sustainability planning work has also included considerations of its transportation and land use networks. The challenge moving forward is to persuade San Antonio residents to drive less. However, this is a challenge because San Antonio, the largest growing city in the US in 2017, has continued to receive an influx of new residents. In fact, San Antonio saw a population increase of 20,824 from July 1, 2017, to July 1, 2018, bringing the total population to 1.53 million residents. The city must plan, develop and manage the fast-paced growth to make it easier and more attractive for people to use transit, bicycle or walk.
What is PM 2.5?
Particulate matter, PM, is an air pollutant and is defined as “a mixture of solid and liquid particles suspended in air” by WHO (2013). PM one of the six common air pollutants listed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) together with ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, and lead. Particulate matters that are smaller than 2.5 µm in diameter are defined as “fine particles” and are denoted by PM 2.5. PM 2.5, due to its extreme small size, can travel deeply into human respiratory system and reach lungs, causing various adverse health effects. The pollutant source includes automobile exhausts, soil-fuel burning, cooking/smoking, erosion of roads and many more.
http://www.ce.utexas.edu/prof/maidment/giswr2013/Reports/Xing.pdf
I also looked at the trends for San Antonio air quality on Air Now (https://www.airnow.gov/trends/). What I found is that although as a region the air quality tends to be around good-to-moderate, there are spikes every few weeks where the air quality reaches levels that might be dangerous for more sensitive people.
San Antonio 