Contaminated air jeopardizes public health

New evidence shows that a number of groups are at risk from air pollution and that the dangers are even more serious than experts previously believed, according to the annual "American Lung Association State of the Air: 2005" report. It warns that continued threats to relax Federal rules for corporate polluters will jeopardize public health.

"Dirty air threatens the lives and health of far too many Americans," declares John L. Kirkwood, ALA president and chief executive officer. "Unfortunately, some of the largest producers of dirty air are big energy companies who have worked with their friends in Congress on legislation to change the rules so they don't have to clean up their pollution. Fortunately, the Senate recently blocked that bill, but the vote was very close. We need to ask ourselves: Why was Congress even considering a bill that protects corporate polluters instead of the public?"

More than 152,000,000 Americans live in counties where they are exposed to unhealthful levels of air pollution, the report maintains. "Air: 2005" 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"). Exhaust fumes from idling diesel trucks and buses, smoke from dirty power plants and factories, and soot released from indoor and outdoor wood burning combine to create particle pollution and are the key raw ingredients of ozone pollution.

Cited are published studies showing that, as ozone levels increase, the risk of premature death accelerates. Ozone is an extremely reactive gas that irritates the respiratory system and can kill those with severe respiratory problems such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (which includes emphysema and chronic bronchitis). The studies found that ozone causes shortness of breath and coughing, 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.

Moreover, the Lung Association has added diabetics to the list of groups most in danger from particle pollution, which is a mixture of microscopic solids and aerosols that has been found to take months to years off a person's life. Particle pollution may induce heart attacks and strokes, cause lung cancer, trigger asthma attacks, and increase the need for medical care and hospital admissions.

"Evidence is mounting each year underscoring just how dangerous air pollution really is," warns Norman H. Edelman, American Lung Association executive vice president and chief medical officer. "The more we learn, the more critical cleaning up the air becomes."

The ALA cites threats to public health that target protections in the Clean Air Act, which requires that the Environmental Protection Agency and states clean up dangerous pollutants and ensures residents have air that is safe to breathe by 2010.

"Big energy companies are pushing Congress to change the law to let them get in an extra 10 years of pollution and to increase pollution at their oldest and dirtiest plants," charges Janice Nolen, director of national policy at the American Lung Association. "In March, the Senate blocked a bill that would do just that, but the fight is not over. We must continue to be vigilant about protecting the Clean Air Act from the polluters."

COPYRIGHT 2005 Society for the Advancement of Education
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