Kerry says feds should establish air quality rules for confinements

Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry says it’s time to make federal air quality rules tougher to ensure fewer kids and adults suffer asthma attacks. Kerry says the federal government “needs to recognize that asthma is induced by environment, by air quality.” Kerry says if elected, he’ll put in place the standards for air quality that are in the Clean Air Act which “George Bush is walking away from.” Kerry says the Bush Administration is going backwards on air quality. Kerry says he would take “aggressive action” to reduce mercury emissions and reduce the amount of “particulates” released into the air by industry and power plants. He would also have the federal government establish air quality rules for large-scale hog confinements. Kerry says University of Iowa research shows 25 percent of the kids who live near a large-scale hog lot suffer from asthma, while only 14 percent of other Iowa kids have asthma. Kerry made his comments while campaigning in northern Iowa yesterday. He’s campaigning in Forest City, Kanawha, Algona, Dakota City, Fort Dodge, Jefferson and Carroll today.