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Second hottest year on record slowed California's air pollution progress

SACRAMENTO – The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2018 report showed that once again California has some of the worst air quality in the nation.

This year’s report revealed that the state’s ozone levels rose significantly due to some of the warmest temperatures on record in 2016. Extreme heat and other climate-driven events have a direct impact on air quality.

“Federal and state policies like the Clean Air Act and strong California clean car standards are working. We are improving air quality, but the impacts of climate change are interfering with progress,” Bonnie Holmes-Gen, senior director of Air Quality and Climate Change for the American Lung Association in California, said. “The reality is California still has unhealthy levels of air pollution in large areas of the state, which puts Californians at risk for premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma, COPD and lung cancer. We must continue the life-saving work of cutting air pollution and slowing climate change.”

The State of the Air 2018 report found that 90 percent of Californians live in areas with unhealthy air at some point during the year. California’s most populous metro area, Los Angeles, led the nation for ozone pollution, faring worse than it did in the 2017 report. The San Joaquin Valley dominated the list of most polluted for short-term and year-round particle pollution with Visalia, Bakersfield and Fresno all landing in the top five.

Rising temperatures linked to climate change hindered the fight against ground-level ozone or smog.

Eight cities increased their unhealthy ground-level ozone averages, including Los Angeles-Long Beach and Inland Empire, Bakersfield, Visalia, Sacramento, San Diego, Redding-Red Bluff, the San Francisco Bay Area including Stockton and Chico. Much of the increase can be attributed to the inclusion of 2016 data in the three-year average, which was the second warmest year in U.S. history. The increase in smog follows several years of increase in particle levels due to drought conditions.

The San Joaquin Valley leads the nation in particle pollution, which contains the same compounds as soot.

“Ozone and particle pollution are especially harmful to children, seniors and those with asthma and other lung diseases. When they breathe polluted air, too often they end up in the doctor’s office, the hospital or the emergency room,” Dr. Alex Sherriffs, a Fresno-area physician and member of the San Joaquin Valley Air District Board and the California Air Resources Board, said.

Of the top 10 regions for short-term and year-round particle pollution, seven are in California, including Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, Bakersfield, Los Angeles-Long Beach and Inland Empire, Fresno-Madera, Modesto-Merced, El Centro and the San Francisco Bay Area including Stockton.

Bakersfield remained atop the list for short-term particle pollution and ranked third for year-round particle pollution, though levels did improve in both categories.

There are two California cities that among the cleanest in America. Salinas landed a spot on two lists of the cleanest cities in the U.S. thanks to zero unhealthy ground-level ozone days and one of the lowest year-round particle pollution levels. Santa Maria-Santa Barbara was also recognized as the cleanest region for short-term particle pollution.

The State of the Air 2018 report is based on air quality monitoring data collected in 2014-2016 and is the most recent years of quality assured data available. It is important to note that the wildfires of 2017 were not captured in this year’s report. The report focuses on ground-level ozone and particle pollution, as they are the most widespread forms of air pollution threatening public health.

“I was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014, and it came as a complete shock to me. I now realize that living and working in Los Angeles meant I was exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution for decades,” Victoria Dresbach, a lung cancer survivor, said. “I don’t want future generations to go through what I have had to experience. I hope that we can continue to reduce vehicle emissions in Los Angeles and all of California to further improve air quality and allow everyone to breathe easier.”

Climate change is worsening air pollution problems, as the report showed. Warmer temperatures linked to climate change increase the frequency and severity of ozone days and make it harder to reach clean air goals. Climate change is also linked to extreme weather patterns, drought and wildfires, which contribute to increased particle pollution.

“It is critical that California continues to lead the nation in the transition away from polluting fossil fuels, especially as the federal government takes steps to roll back lifesaving measures that reduce climate pollution like clean car standards,” Holmes-Gen said. “Moving to a zero-emission vehicle future will have huge positive impacts on public health and improve the lives of those living with lung disease.”

The State of the Air 2018 rankings from 1-10 for the “Most Polluted Cities for Ozone” were Los Angeles-Long Beach, including Inland Empire; Bakersfield; Visalia-Porterville-Hanford; Fresno-Madera; Sacramento-Roseville; San Diego-Carlsbad; Modesto-Merced; Phoenix, Arizona; Redding-Red Bluff and New York, New York-Newark, New Jersey.

The “Most Polluted Cities for Short-Term Particle Pollution” were Bakersfield; Visalia-Porterville-Hanford; Fresno-Madera; Fairbanks, Alaska; Modesto-Merced; San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, including Stockton; Los Angeles-Long Beach, including Inland Empire; Salt Lake City, Utah; El Centro and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The “Most Polluted Cities for Year-Round Particle Pollution” were Fairbanks, Alaska; Visalia-Porterville-Hanford; Bakersfield; Los Angeles-Long Beach, including Inland Empire; Fresno-Madera; Modesto-Merced; El Centro; Pittsburgh and Lancaster, Pennsylvania, tied and San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, including Stockton and Cleveland, Ohio, tied.

To learn more about California’s grades, including local air quality data for each county and metropolitan area, visit http://www.stateoftheair.org/california2018.

 

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