April 28, 2005

Contacts:
Andy Weisser, (818) 703-6444, aweisser@earthlink.net
www.californialung.org
or your local American Lung Association at (800) LUNG-USA

32 California Counties Fail American Lung Association’s Annual State of the Air Clean Air Test; 31.6 Million Californians Threatened by Dangerous Ozone and/or Particle Pollution Levels

Bad air report is a call to action: Reduce air pollution, transition from diesel to cleaner alternatives, reduce unhealthy dependence on petroleum, drive less and drive cleaner vehicles.

Resources:

Ways to Fight Air Pollution in Your Community
Free: Diesel Health Effects Ads/Posters
Download the State of the Air Report

Editor/Reporter Note: B-roll, print graphics and other story elements are available at: www.thenewsmarket.com/ala.

Related local news conferences:

• Sacramento : 11 a.m. , Thursday, April 28, R Street Project Lofts, R and 19th Streets. Contact: Gary Zavoral, 916.446.9900
• San Diego : 10 a.m. , Thursday, April 28, Top floor of Park Manor Suites, 525 Spruce Street (corner 6th Ave ). Ross Porter, 619.297.3901

(EMBARGOED: April 28, 2005 Oakland, CA) Thirty-two of California’s 52 counties with air quality monitoring stations received failings grades in the American Lung Association State of the Air: 2005 report released today. The report ranks the cities and counties with the dirtiest air and provides county-level report cards on the two most pervasive air pollutants: particle pollution and ozone (more commonly called smog). According to the report, more than 31.6 million Californians are breathing air with dangerously high levels of particle pollution and/or ozone.

California counties receiving F grades on one or more of the three pollutant lists (in alphabetical order) are: Alameda, Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Contra Costa, El Dorado, Fresno, Imperial, Kern, Kings, Los Angeles, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco, San Joaquin, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara, Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Tulare, Tuolumne and Ventura.

California has 14 of the top 25 ozone polluted counties, 11 of the top 25 counties polluted with short-term particle pollution and 9 of the top 25 counties polluted with long-term particle pollution. California counties on one or more of the three pollutant lists are (in alphabetical order): El Dorado, Kern, Kings, Fresno, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Merced, Nevada, Orange, Placer, Riverside, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Ventura.

Grade shifts experienced in some counties, compared to last year’s report, are as follows (listed by pollutant):

Ozone: Orange and Santa Clara Counties grades dropped from a D to an F; Shasta County’s grade dropped from a B to a C; and San Luis Obispo County’s grade dropped from an A to a B.

24-Hour Particle Pollution: Butte, Inyo, Solano, and Ventura Counties improved their grades from an F to a D; San Luis Obispo and Yolo Counties improved their grades from a C to a B; Calaveras and Lake Counties improved their grades from a B to an A; Mendocino County’s grade dropped from an A to a B.

Annual Particle Pollution: Imperial and San Joaquin Counties grades improved from failing to passing.

“This report, based on data gathered by air quality monitoring stations, reflects that too many Californians are breathing too much bad air on too many days,” said John Balmes, MD, who serves on the American Lung Association of California’s Clean Air Technical Advisory Group and is a pulmonary physician and professor of medicine at the University of California , San Francisco . “The threat may be invisible to the human eye, but it is real, can make people sick and even kill. This is why the American Lung Association is fighting to protect the Clean Air Act and oppose federal Administration efforts to weaken it,” Balmes said.

“This report is a call to action,” said Balmes. “We must take steps to reduce air pollution by transitioning from diesel to cleaner alternatives and reducing our unhealthy dependence on petroleum.” “We need to drive less and drive vehicles that emit fewer pollutants. There are already cleaner options on the market today and we need to push automakers to listen to their customers and produce more cleaner-fueled models, like those powered by electricity, natural gas or hybrid-electric engines.”

The American Lung Association of California is emphasizing three levels of action. At the local level, individuals can reduce their driving by using mass transit, purchase cleaner fueled vehicles and support local efforts to efforts to clean up the air. Through cleaner transportation choices, local governments, businesses, schools and organizations can reduce smog emissions and greenhouse gases from their vehicles fleets. On the state level, new legislation is needed like SB 757 (Kehoe) and AB 1007 (Pavley) to establish statewide goals for reducing petroleum use and diversifying our transportation fuel supply. Legislation is also needed to reduce diesel pollution from ports, rail yards and construction sites. On the federal level, Americans need to communicate their opposition to any legislation that erodes the federal Clean Air Act.

That’s the message behind the American Lung Association of California’s Clean Air Month this May. The public information campaign focuses on the health risks of air pollution and the need to improve air quality with the theme: “Protect the Air You Breathe.”

“ California ’s failing grades result from pollution that must be cleaned up,” said Balmes. Oil refineries, diesel exhaust from trucks and buses, agricultural and wood burning are some of our biggest sources of particle pollution and key raw ingredients of ozone pollution,” he said. “But, we cannot forget that the family car is a significant part of the problem.”

“Whether you live in a community with good air quality or poor air quality, we all must do our part to fight air pollution,” said Balmes. “Clean air is a regional issue because ozone and particle pollution drift into other areas creating secondhand smog. Choices made in one area affect the quality of air people breathe in other communities, so choosing a cleaner-fueled vehicle goes a long way toward protecting their health.”

An estimated 4.2 million people in Californian live with lung diseases like asthma, emphysema and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and more than 35,000 of them will die prematurely this year as a result. The American Lung Association is committed to reducing the suffering caused by lung disease and fighting air pollution is one way to do that because diesel exhaust, particle pollution, ozone and other air pollutants are serious threats to lung health.

Transportation is the single biggest source of air pollution as cars, trucks and buses clog our roadways and spew dangerous pollutants into the air we breathe. Diesel exhaust is particularly harmful and was listed by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) in 1998 as a toxic air contaminant.

In fact, diesel particulates are the most significant source of air toxics in California and account for 70 percent of the cancer risk from toxic air contaminants statewide, according to CARB.

The State of the Air: 2005 cites recently published studies showing that as ozone levels increase, the risk of premature death increases as well. Ozone air pollution is a powerful respiratory irritant that can actually cause chemical burns on lung tissue. Symptoms include shortness of breath, chest pain when inhaling deeply, wheezing and coughing.

The studies also found that ozone triggers asthma attacks and increases the need for emergency room visits and hospital admissions. Children, the elderly, and those with asthma or other lung diseases are most at risk from the high ozone levels ozone that occur too frequently in California.

“Breathing in ozone burns the lungs like teargas would burn your eyes,” said Balmes.

Particle pollution is a mixture of microscopic solids and aerosols that has been found to take months to years off a person’s life. In addition to children, the elderly, and those with asthma, other lung diseases or heart disease, the State of the Air: 2005 report now adds diabetics to the list of groups most at risk from particle pollution, based on increased evidence of their vulnerability to these tiny particles. Particle pollution has also been shown to induce heart attacks and strokes, cause lung cancer, trigger asthma attacks and increase the need for medical care and hospital visits. State of the Air: 2005 estimates that California residents are exposed to dangerously high levels of particle pollution.

When inhaled, tiny particle pollution can lodge deep into the lungs and has been linked to increased asthma attacks, increased hospitalizations for respiratory and heart conditions, and lung cancer. Recent research has also linked exposure to relatively low levels of particle pollution with premature death.

“The dangerous thing about these fine particles is that they are smaller than the width of a human hair and tiny enough to penetrate the body’s natural defense systems,” said Balmes. “This means when you inhale these particles, they embed themselves deep in the lungs. Some may even pass through the lungs to the blood. Studies link particle pollution to increased risk of asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, lung cancer, and premature death, to name just a few of the ways this tiny army attacks.”

The American Lung Association has been working to protect the air in California by supporting important policies aimed at reducing motor vehicle emissions and diesel exhaust. The association fought hard for landmark regulations adopted recently by the California Air Resources Board (CARB) that require automakers to cut vehicle emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases that contribute to global warming.

Through its Clean Fleets Program, the American Lung Association has been working in communities across the state to encourage governments and companies to switch to cleaner-fueled vehicles such as electric, natural gas, or hybrid-electric.

The association has also been a strong advocate for increased funding for the Carl Moyer Air Quality Attainment Program and the Lower Emission School Bus Program, which provide incentives to transition from dirty diesel engines to cleaner alternatives.

But buses and trucks aren’t the only source of diesel pollution. Ports, construction equipment and rail yards are all contributors and communities near these sites are suffering serious health consequences as a result, including higher incidences of respiratory ailments.

The American Lung Association of California urges more state action to reduce diesel pollution and is supporting several bills aimed at reducing diesel pollution, including SB 760 (Lowenthal) that would place a fee on shipping containers processed at the Port of Los Angeles and Port of Long Beach for programs to clean up diesel vehicles and equipment at the ports and other purposes; SB 497 (Simitian) that would help speed up the pace at which cleaner equipment is introduced at state-funded construction sites throughout California; and, AB 1407 (Oropeza) that would place a fee on diesel fuel used in off-road vehicles to fund programs to upgrade and replace older diesel vehicles.

In the State of the Air: 2005 report, the American Lung Association cites threats to public health that target protections in the Clean Air Act. The Clean Air Act requires that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and states clean up dangerous pollutants and ensures residents have air that is safe to breathe by 2010.

To minimize exposure to ozone and particle pollution, the American Lung Association of California recommends the following:

• Check local air quality forecasts. You can find these by going to www.epa.gov/airnow/.
• Avoid exercising near high-traffic areas.
• Avoid exercising outdoors when pollution levels are high, or substitute an activity that requires less exertion.
• Don’t smoke indoors.
• Don’t use fireplaces and wood-burning stoves.
• Consider cleaner vehicles, like those powered by electricity, natural gas or hybrid-electric engines.

To find out more about what you can do to get involved, protect yourself, your family’s health, and the Clean Air Act, visit www.californialung.org or www.lungusa.org.

American Lung Association State of the Air: 2005 uses air quality measurements made by state and local agencies and reported to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the years 2001 through 2003, the most current, quality-assured data by the EPA. Grades are based on how often air quality levels reach “unhealthful” amounts under EPA’s Air Quality Index for short-term levels of particle pollution and ozone. Pass/Fail grades for the year-round levels of particle pollution are based on EPA’s own analysis.

Every Californian can help protect the air we all breathe by driving less and making their next vehicle a cleaner-fueled one. Carpool, ride your bike and walk more, and take the train and bus whenever possible. Cleaner-fueled vehicles such as electric, natural gas, and hybrid electric-gasoline emit fewer pollutants than gasoline and diesel powered vehicles. Reduced purchase and rental rates are available on cleaner-fueled vehicles at the American Lung Association’s Web site through a partnership with EV Rental Cars.

Businesses, schools and other organizations can help protect the air we breathe by encouraging carpooling and bicycling, offering incentives for using low-pollution forms of transportation, encouraging employees to telecommute whenever possible and purchasing company vehicles and buses powered by cleaner fuels. Governments can do their part by purchasing cleaner-fueled fleets and setting policies that encourage cleaner transportation options.

The American Lung Association of California also offers print ads that provide health facts about diesel and tell Californians “There’s Even More You Should Know About Diesel.” They can be downloaded from the association’s Web site at http://californialung.org/spotlight/cleanair01_ads.html.

For the complete report and/or more information about Clean Air Month activities in your area, call your local American Lung Association at 1.800.LUNG.USA or visit www.californialung.org.

For 100 years, the American Lung Association has been the lead organization working to prevent lung disease and promote lung health. Lung disease death rates continue to increase while other leading causes of death have declined. The American Lung Association funds vital research on the causes of and treatments for lung disease. With the generous support of the public, the American Lung Association is “Improving life, one breath at a time.” For more information about the American Lung Association or to support the work it does, call 1.800.LUNG.USA (1.800.586.4872) or visit www.californialung.org or www.lungusa.org.call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) or visit www.californialung.org.