Dangerous Breaths

Multinational Monitor, May/Jun 2009

THE POLLUTION that is currently endangering the environment is also endangering public health, according to an April report by the American Lung Association. Six in 10 people in the United States live in areas where air pollution threatens lives, according to the Association's 10th annual "State of the Ar" report.

"This should be a wakeup call," says Stephen Nolan, American Lung Association national board chair. "We know that air pollution is a major threat to human health. When 60 percent of Americans are left breathing air dirty enough to send people to the emergency room, or shape how kids' lungs develop, and to kill, air pollution remains a serious problem."

The report noted that despite measures implemented across the United States to stem air pollution, many cities actually became more polluted over the past year. Measuring ozone or smog, annual particle pollution and shortterm particle pollution, the report found that the air pollution in nearly every major U.S. city is at unhealthy levels.

When inhaled, ozone irritates the lungs and can have immediate detrimental health effects, including wheezing, coughing and asthma attacks, according to the American Lung Association. The report found that 58 percent of people in the United States live in counties with too many days with unhealthy ozone levels.

Particle pollution, the "most dangerous and deadly" outdoor pollutant, according the American Lung Association, is caused by soot, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols, and can increase the risk of "early death, heart attacks, strokes and emergency room visits for asthma and cardiovascular disease." One in six people in the United States lives in an area with unhealthy annual levels of particle pollution, the report found.

Los Angeles ranks as the top city polluted by unhealthy ozone levels. Pittsburgh is the top city polluted by particle pollution.

"America needs to cut emissions from big polluters like coal-fired power plans and ocean-going vessels," says American Lung Association President and Chief Executive Charles Connor. "We need to fix old dirty diesel engines to make them cleaner and strengthen the ozone standards to better protect our health. ... America must now enforce the laws that help us improve our nation's air quality."