You’d think that tougher standards for toxic pollution in the air we breathe would be an easy sell, especially here in Portland.
But Mary Peveto of Neighbors for Clean Air tells me there’s a lot of frustration after what people heard at last night’s meeting put on by Oregon DEQ.
Mary Peveto remembers the moment she became a clean air activist.
The NW Portland resident had just typed the name of her daughter’s school into a national database on toxic air quality. Much to her surprise – and horror – the school was ranked as one of the worst in the country.
The American Lung Association releases its annual clean air report and it’s not kind to three counties in Oregon.
Lane, Jackson and Klamath counties get at least one flunking grade. Eugene-Springfield earns a spot on one of the group’s “Most Polluted Cities” lists.
How bad is the air pollution in your neighborhood? Are you sure you really want to know?
Eugene and Lane County have some of the worst air pollution problems in the country, according to new information from the American Lung Association.
The ALA released it’s 2009 State Of The Air report this morning. It’s based on EPA data collected over three years, from 2005 to 2007. It looks at the two major types of air pollution, ozone and particle pollution.
So as we dive into the data, let’s take a deep breath. That’s safe today, even in Lane County.
What the data shows is this, on a typical day Lane County’s air quality is actually pretty good. But too often it spikes to unhealthy levels both for ozone and particle pollution.
During the study period, Lane County’s particle pollution hit levels that were unhealthy for sensitive populations on 38 days, and hit unhealthy levels for everyone on a single day. According to the Lung Association, that’s the 14th worst record in the nation, and it gives Lane County a grade of “F” for spiking too often and too high. Eugene hits the list as the 13th worst city in the nation for particle pollution spikes.
As for ozone, Lane County gets a “D” from the Lung Association for the 8 days when ozone reached levels that were unhealthy for sensitive groups.
But is this an accurate picture of what’s happening in the county?
