Air
quality in Imperial County has gotten better over the last decade, but
not good enough to warrant a letter grade above “F,” according to the
latest three-year study from the American Lung Association.
This
is the third such “State of the Air” study the American Lung
Association has done since its 1996-1998 study period. And while the
numbers have been slightly better over each successive study, local air
quality is still quite bad.
According to the ALA, asthma and
asthma-related hospitalizations among children and adults is increasing
despite improving particulate matter and ozone pollution.
A 2005
study (the last available data used by the ALA) found 21 percent of
children in Imperial County are diagnosed with asthma, which is an
increase over 2001 at 15 percent and 2003 at 10 percent.
That
same study showed that children in Imperial County are 6.4 times more
likely to be hospitalized for asthma than other children in the state.
Adults had a rate of asthma hospitalization 10.8 for every 100,000
adults between 2001 and 2005. That stands in stark contrast to the
state average of 4.5 hospitalizations.
The numbers are
startling, and a bit depressing, but there is a semblance of hope.
Particulate pollution, such as dust and soot, has not exceeded the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency’s standard for healthy air since
2000-2002.
And
while the number of unhealthy ozone days by EPA standards increased
incrementally since 2003-2005, those days have otherwise been on a
downward tract.
But more change needs to happen to reduce childhood and adult asthma rates, and it needs to be as soon as possible.
Among
the largest culprits of the Valley’s unhealthy ozone levels is
Mexicali, but it’s not the coal-burning plants, Imperial County Air
Pollution Control District Officer Brad Poirez said. The big offender
is the cars that sit in line at the ports of entry for as long as two
hours idling and spewing carbon monoxide into the air.
That seems to be at least one portion of the problem locals can get a handle on and help in solving.
Calexico officials are doing much to reduce border wait times at the
ports, but now they’ll have one more weapon in their arsenal — the fact
that the wait times are affecting the health of Imperial County’s
asthma sufferers.
Yes,
things are getting better, even if slightly so, but much more work
needs to be done to make the air quality here anything other than a
failure.
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