New Study Says L.A.'s Smog Pollution Is 'Worse Than We Thought'

“Los Angeles Smog,” Ben Amstutz, Creative Commons

Environment California just released a new report, Danger in the Air: Unhealthy Air Days in 2010 and 2011. Guess what, L.A. The top five smoggiest metropolitan areas in the country in 2010 were in California. Ground-level ozone, smog's main component, is one of the most harmful and prevalent air pollutants, exacerbating respiratory illness and causing premature death. Though air quality has improved greatly over the last decade thanks to state and federal policies, the road to clean, healthy air stretches on for miles.

In 2010 Riverside-San Bernardino ranked as the smoggiest city in the country. Enduring 110 smog days, the area, which is home to over 3 million residents, experienced unhealthy air one out of three days. Two dozen of those days were considered "red-alert days" where anyone could experience adverse health effects due to the extremely poor air quality. People of the sensitive populations - children, the elderly and respiratory illness sufferers - could undergo worse effects.

On the heels of Riverside-San Bernardino in 2010 were Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, Bakersfield, Los Angeles-Long Beach and Fresno. L.A.'s tallies show 69 smog days and 3 red-alert days, ranking it as the third smoggiest metropolitan area in the country.

California ranked as the smoggiest state in 2010, suffocating from 135 smog days, 37 red-alert days and 2 purple-alert days. Purple-alert days occur when the air is deemed so unhealthy that citizens were alerted to limit outdoor exposure, and sensitive groups were told to remain completely indoors.

Hold your breaths, Los Angeles, it's only getting worse. The report also includes preliminary data on smog levels for the summer of 2011, through August 21, presented for broader Combined Statistical Areas. And of course, the number one smoggiest area in the country is Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside. Of those summer days that were not making us feel fine, 85 were smog days, 21 were red-alert days and 7 were purple-alert days.

The numbers are worse than Environment California thought, as an outdated ozone standard set in 2008 is actually less protective of public health than the standard used for this study. In 2008 the standard was 75 parts per billion, and scientists believe that 60-70 parts per billion is more conservative. The report looks at the number of times that air monitors recorded smog pollution levels of 71-75 ppb in 2010, then calculates how many additional days the public was exposed to unhealthy air using the more protective level of 70ppb. "These numbers illustrate that the air was unhealthy to breathe many more times in 2010 and 2011 than was reported to the public," says the study - 32 additional days in L.A., to be exact. Gasping for air now, Angelenos?

In response to the report, Congressman Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles) said, “We have made great strides over the years to achieve clean air, but this new report underscores the urgent need to do more to protect American families from air pollution," according to a report news release.

“In Los Angeles, we know that smog is a major threat to the health of our families," said Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-Los Angeles). "Over 700,000 people in our city suffer from asthma, including 165,000 children. Environment California’s report confirms what we already know - that the Los Angeles area ranks among the highest in the nation for poor air quality. This is completely unacceptable."

Recommendations for improving air quality per the study include the following.

*To protect public health, EPA must set a National Ambient Air Quality Standard for ground-level ozone within the range of 60-70 parts per billion averaged over eight hours.

*Pollution from cars and trucks accounts for a third of smog-forming nitrogen oxide emissions in the United States, and steps should be taken to reduce that pollution.

*State and federal governments should accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels and toward a clean energy economy.

*Lastly, Congress should eliminate subsidies that help keep our nation dependent on polluting fossil fuels.

We hope that someday our city and its surrounding areas will no longer be blanketed by that thick, brownish/pinkish layer of our sworn enemy.