MetBlogs – Santa Clara County:  Santa Clara County has been given a failing grade for air quality by the American Lung Association.  The State of the Air 2009 report gave failing grades to 39 counties in California, including Alameda, Contra Costa, and Santa Clara.   

This is not a news item that we should easily dismiss.  The estimated number of people that particle pollution kills each year has tripled in our state.  According to Jenny Bard, the Bay Area regional air quality director for the American Lung Association, we have historically had the worst air quality in the Bay Area.  From 2005 to 2007, Santa Clara County surpassed unhealthy ozone limits an average 5.2 days a year.  We also surpassed unhealthy short-term pollution particle levels a yearly average of 11 days, which gave us the 24th highest level in the nation.

The report finds that six out of ten Americans live in areas where air pollution levels endanger lives.  “This should be a wakeup call.  We know that air pollution is a major threat to human health,” said Stephen J. Nolan, American Lung Association National Board Chair.  “When 60 percent of Americans are left breathing air dirty enough to send people to the emergency room, to shape how kids’ lungs develop, and to kill, air pollution remains a serious problem.”

According to the ALA, ozone is the most widespread form of air pollution. When inhaled, ozone irritates the lungs, resulting in something like a bad sunburn. Ozone can cause wheezing, coughing and asthma attacks and can even shorten lives.

It is estimated that over 3,700 deaths annually can be attributed to a 10-parts-per-billion increase in ozone levels.

Particle pollution is a toxic mix of microscopic soot, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols. It is the most dangerous and deadly of the outdoor air pollutants that are widespread in America. Breathing in particle pollution can increase the risk of early death, heart attacks, strokes and emergency room visits for asthma and cardiovascular disease.

Our county’s dense population is partly to blame for our high pollution levels.  According to Bard, Santa Clara County contains 1.8 million residents and is the most populous in the Bay Area.   San Jose’s population alone just hit 1,006,892.  We also have a limited mass transit infrastructure and 1.2 million autos (25 percent of the Bay Area) traveling our roads.  Lisa Fasano, a spokeswoman for the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, states that 69 percent of all smog pollutants during Bay Area summers are created by motor vehicles.  In the winter time, 33 percent of all short-term particle pollutants are created by wood smoke primarily burned by residents, according to Bard.

The news is not all bad.  Although we are ranked as the 24^th most polluted county in the nation for short-term particle pollution, last year we were ranked 17^th.  In addition, the yearly average number of days that Santa Clara County has exceeded unhealthy ozone levels has dropped from 10 in the 2001 report to 5 in the 2009 report.

A few Bay Area counties did receive passing grades.  Monterey, San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties all received grades of A or B for both High Ozone Days and Particle Pollution.  San Francisco County received an A in High Ozone but an F in Particle Pollution.

The Bay Area Air Quality Management District established the Spare the Air program  to educate people about air pollution and to encourage them to change their behavior to prevent it.   They recommend several simple actions we can take to make clean air choices every day.   These include driving less, taking public transportation, trip-linking, walking, biking, choosing non-gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment, and avoiding polluting household products.

View More Ways to Fight Air Pollution in Your Community and do your part by committing to some of the actions so we can raise our grade in next year’s report. 

Urge the EPA to set tougher standards by sending this online letter.

Visit www.lungusa.org to search local air quality grades by zip code and to send messages to Congress and the Obama Administration to urge action to protect the air we breathe.