Breathe A Little Easier
Thursday, the American Lung Association is releasing a report that will tell us which cities are the best and worst places to live when it comes to air pollution and how you can help your family breathe easier.
The rankings in this report are based on reports from 2000-2002 to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state monitoring reports that have been published.
John Kirkwood, CEO of the American Lung Association, tells The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith the headline of this report is that a quarter of all Americans are threatened by dangerous particles pollution levels.
Particle pollution is the general term for soot from industrial facilities, emissions from power plants and vehicles with diesel engines, such as buses and trucks.
Kirkwood says, "There have been improvements in smog and there have been improvements over the last 20 years in particulate levels. But we still haven't reached the level in the country that's healthy for people."
Previously, the report has only focused on ozone pollution. Kirkwood says, "This is the fifth time we've done the report. It's focused on smog and, for the first time, we've included particle."
And although there have been improvements in the ozone problem in this country, more than half of Americans are still living in unhealthy areas. Since the last report, five percent fewer Americans are living in unhealthy ozone areas.
However, when you combine ozone and particle pollution, 55 percent of Americans are living in unhealthy areas.
Kirkwood says, "It is basically a health issue. I think the people in the country are entitled to clean air. We've been working on it for many, many years. There have been improvements made. But we're not there yet. We need to continually work on regulations, and enforcement of the Clean Air Act."
In the next few weeks, the EPA is expected to issue a new rule regarding off-road diesel vehicles, like bulldozers and construction equipment. This would require the use of cleaner diesel fuels and would change how diesel engines are made. It will be implemented over the next 10 years.
Here is a list of the five U.S. metropolitan areas with the worst particle pollution and those areas that are the cleanest (have the least amount of particle pollution).
Metropolitan Areas Most Polluted by Particle Pollution
- Los Angeles - Long Beach - Riverside, CA
- Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
- Bakersfield, Calif.
- Fresno-Madera, Calif.
- Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
Note: "Thirty-four of California's 58 counties failed one or more of three clean air tests graded in the American Lung Association State of the Air: 2004 report. This report reminds us that too many people are breathing too much polluted air on too many days, and the health of more than 30 million Californians is at risk. That's 84 percent of the entire state's population!" - Source: The American Lung Association Web site
Kirkwood notes, "Unfortunately, the Los Angeles area continues to lead the list. Their problem relates to high population density, the geography, automobile traffic, industrial sources, refineries and so forth, all in that Los Angeles area. And that leads to high levels of smog, high levels of particulate pollution."
Cities with the Least Particle Pollution
- Santa Fe-Espanola, NM
- Honolulu, HI
- Cheyenne, WY
- Great Falls, MT
- Farmington, NM
- Anchorage, AK
- Albuquerque, NM
These places seem to be better than the rest because they are smaller cities, Kirkwood says. "They're less densely populated. They don't have the industrial development in places that you see in places like Chicago or New York or Cleveland. There's less automobile traffic. So all of that contributes toward improved air quality or clean air quality in those cities."
There have been a variety of studies that have linked particle pollution to higher rates of lung disease and higher rates of lung cancer.
Kirkwood notes as the air quality improves, then morbidity and mortality related to air pollution will decline. "It's a long-term process. Air that we were exposed to 20 years ago could affect our health today, even though the air is cleaner," he says.
What does this all mean? People with respiratory problems or a relative with this problem should be aware of the daily pollution. Weather forecasts are usually the easiest way to find out. According to the American Lung Association, smog levels are high during the summer and particle pollution levels can be high at any time of year.
Even healthy people should avoid exercising outdoors when the pollution levels are high. Consider walking inside a shopping mall or gym or using an exercise machine.
Prevention tips:
- Prohibit smoking indoors and don't smoke around children
- Don't burn wood, which creates particle pollution indoors and out.
- Don't burn trash.
- Use mass transit or carpool whenever possible
- Fill up your gas tank after dusk on summer days. Gasoline vapors can react with sunlight and heat to add to the ozone problem. Filling up after dark takes away one essential ingredient in making ozone: sunlight
- Use hand-powered or electric rather than gasoline-powered lawn care equipment. Two-stroke engines like lawnmowers and blowers often have no pollution control devices and can pollute more than cars.
- Encourage your child's school to look at ways to clean up school buses.
Most buses use heavily polluting diesel engines. Newer fuels and engines
are cleaner. Many school systems are using EPA's Clean School Bus Campaign to clean up these dirty emissions.
Source: The American Lung Association