York County grade drops to “F” for unhealthy levels of ozone pollution, Bangor remains one of cleanest cities in U.S. for particle pollution. Maine is experiencing  less year-round and short-term particle pollution overall, but worsening ozone pollution in some areas, according to the American Lung Association’s 16th annual State of the Air report released today.  While Bangor is again ranked as one of the cleanest cities in the country for particle pollution, York County saw its grade drop to an “F” for ozone pollution.
In keeping with a trend seen across the nation, Maine’s particle pollution grades improved, with all monitored counties receiving grades of “A”.  But southern and coastal Maine continues to experience unhealthy levels of ozone pollution, leaving Cumberland, Knox, and Hancock counties with grades of “C” on this year’s report.  Last year, Bangor was one of the four cleanest cities for both particulates and ozone, but this year Penobscot County’s grade for ozone dropped to a “B”.

York County, home to almost 200,000 people, had 10 days of unhealthy ozone levels in the three-year reporting period.  Cumberland followed with 6, Knox had 4, and Hancock had 3 unhealthy days.

The State of the Air report looks at the two most widespread types of pollution, ozone and particle pollution.  Ozone, which is also known as smog, is created in the atmosphere by the reaction of warm air and sunlight on emissions from vehicles and other pollution sources.  When ozone is inhaled, it irritates the lungs and can cause immediate health problems including wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks and even premature death.  The impacts of ozone pollution are sometimes compared to a “sunburn on the lungs”.

“We are thrilled to be celebrating perfect grades across the state for particle pollution,” said Effie Craven, Healthy Air Coordinator for the American Lung Association in Maine, in a news release. “This is a wonderful example of what happens when the Clean Air Act is allowed to work as intended, cleaning up smokestacks and tailpipes in order to make our air healthier.  But it’s not all good news, especially if you live in southern or coastal Maine, where unhealthy ozone levels persist and can lead to asthma attacks, reduced lung function, and expensive hospital admissions.”

“Air pollution doesn’t respect state borders and the health effects can be very dangerous,” said Dr. Marguerite Pennoyer, an allergist and immunologist, in Scarborough.  “Children, the elderly, and people with lung or heart disease are most at risk, but even healthy adults who work or exercise outdoors can be harmed.  Maine already has one of the highest asthma rates in the nation.  Couple that with a weak and outdated federal ozone standard, as well as the ever-growing impacts of climate change, and you’ve got a recipe for expensive and preventable health problems for generations to come.”

Particle pollution, called fine particulate matter or soot, is a mixture of very tiny solid and liquid particles which come directly from car exhaust, wood fires, coal burning power plants and other smokestacks.  The body's natural defenses, coughing and sneezing, can fail to keep these microscopic particles from burrowing deep within the lungs.  Particle pollution can trigger asthma and heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer, and early death.

“We’re all in this together, because we all count on clean air to breathe, so let’s figure it out,” said Rep. Patty Hymanson, a state representative from York, in the release. “As a physician and a legislator, I support efforts to measure and control air pollution. Ozone comes into York County mostly from other states. Therefore, we count on our neighboring states to control their pollution so everyone can enjoy the beauty of southern Maine outdoors.  We need national standards for carbon and ozone pollution that are smart and fair.  And we need Maine’s Congressional delegation to strongly defend the Clean Air Act so we start to see progress on ozone like we’ve seen on soot particles.”

Nationwide, more than 4 in 10 Americans – nearly 138.5 million people – live in counties where ozone or particle pollution levels make the air unhealthy to breathe, according to State of the Air 2015.  The 16th annual national report card, which looks at air pollution data collected from 2011-2013, shows that improvement in the nation’s air quality was mixed, with many cities experiencing strong improvements, while others suffered increased episodes of unhealthy air, and a few even marked their worst number of unhealthy days.
“Maine can certainly be proud of the progress we’ve made in cleaning up our air since the first State of the Air report 16 years ago,” said Jeff Seyler, president & CEO of the American Lung Association of the Northeast.  “And while we can celebrate the continued reduction in particle pollution here in Maine and across the nation, thanks in large part to cleaner vehicles and fuels, we need to be doing even more to make the air healthy for all of us to breathe.”

“We all share the same air so keeping it healthy is a priority for our community partners,” said Sue Patterson, Director of Choose To Be Healthy Coalition, a local Healthy Maine Partnership affiliated with York Hospital in York.  “We are very concerned that York County has received a grade of ‘F’ for unhealthy ozone days.  We will certainly continue to do everything we can across our region to improve air quality.  But in York County we are on the front lines of unhealthy air blowing in from states to the south and west of us. We can’t do this on our own - we’ll need help from Washington DC if we’re going to clean up the air in southern Maine.”

“Not only are we breathing pollution from other states, we are being lulled into a false sense of security by an outdated federal ozone standard that does not reflect today’s best medical science,” said Craven.  “We’re actually experiencing more than three times as many unhealthy air days in southern Maine as what gets reported.  Too many Maine families know all too well that high ozone levels can quickly turn a day at the beach into a day in the emergency room.  I think Maine parents would agree that it's time to put an ozone standard in place that actually protects children's health."
 

Last fall the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed strengthening the federal ozone standard, which establishes the point at which ozone levels are considered healthy or unhealthy.  The EPA has proposed changing the standard, currently set at 75 parts per billion (ppb), to a more protective level in the range of 65-70 ppb.  The Lung Association called the proposal “long overdue” but also expressed concern that the EPA did not include 60 ppb in its proposed update, even though 60 ppb was the recommendation of the EPA’s independent scientists as well as health and medical societies, including the American Lung Association.  The public comment period on this proposal has now closed and a final decision is expected by year-end.
 
In its State of the Air 2015 report, the American Lung Association calls for four actions that will help improve air quality.  The report states:
1.       “Strengthen the outdated ozone standards. The EPA must adopt an up-to-date ozone limit that follows the current health science and the law to protect human health. Strong standards will drive much needed cleanup of ozone pollution across the nation.
2.       Adopt a strong final Clean Power Plan. The EPA needs to issue tough final requirements to reduce carbon pollution from power plants.
3.       Protect the Clean Air Act. Congress needs to ensure that the protections under the Clean Air Act remain effective and enforced. States should not be allowed to opt out of Clean Air Act protections.
4.       Fund the work to provide healthy air. Congress needs to adequately fund the work of the EPA and the states to monitor and protect the nation from air pollution.”
 
“The impacts of climate change on our health and our economy cannot be ignored,” stated Julie Osgood, Senior Director of Operations at MaineHealth.  “Warmer temperatures create a breeding ground for ozone pollution and climate change amplifies the amount of air pollution and natural allergens we are forced to breathe.  These are costly outcomes that affect children’s learning and workers’ productivity.  That’s why it’s so important to reduce carbon pollution from power plants, modernize the nation’s ozone standards, and for Congress to ensure that health protections under the Clean Air Act remain effective and enforced.” 

Craven added, “Our work to clean up the air is far from finished.  We need to adopt a federal ozone standard that follows the law and protects health.  We need to clean up carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, and we need to defend the Clean Air act from being undermined and weakened by industry polluters.  These three actions would make a tremendous difference in our efforts to improve health and lower health costs for families and businesses.”
 
The American Lung Association “State of the Air 2015” report uses the most recent quality-assured air pollution data, collected by federal, state and local governments and tribes in 2011, 2012, and 2013. These data come from official monitors for the two most widespread types of pollution, ozone and particle pollution. The report grades counties, ranking cities and counties based on scores calculated by average number of unhealthy days (for ozone and for short-term particle pollution) and by annual averages (for year-round particle pollution).
The American Lung Association of the Northeast serves CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, RI and VT. We are part of the American Lung Association, the oldest voluntary health organization in the U.S. Established in 1904 to combat tuberculosis; our mission today is to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. The focus is on air quality, asthma, tobacco control, and all lung disease. www.LungNE.org