Valley's air quality flunks again in new study
By: Ahwatukee Foothills News
in the American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report, the Phoenix Mesa area ranked fifth worst in the nation by ozone. High ozone
days were measured by daily maximum eight-hour average concentration of ozone. The current national ambient air quality standard for ozone is 70 parts per billion over eight hours - anything above that is considered unhealthy. (American Lung Association/ visualization by Greta Forslund)
Phoenix Metro is one of the most ozone-polluted cities in the United States, according to the most recent State of the Air report from the American Lung Association.
The report emphasized people of color are especially affected by air pollution and the health issues it can cause.
In addition to being ranked the fifth-most ozone-polluted city for the second year in a row, the report also said the metro area tied for seventh place for year-round particle pollution and 13th for cities most polluted by short-term particle pollution.
Maricopa County ranked seventh among most-polluted counties in the United States for ozone pollution and it received failing grades for high ozone days and particle pollution in the association’s county report card.
The Valley has a number of factors that contribute to ozone pollution, according to JoAnna Strother, senior director of advocacy for the American Lung Association based in Arizona.
“Ozone is made by sunlight and heat and also mixed with volatile organic compounds. … Those can come from a variety of sources, especially the transportation sector, that’s one of the No. 1 contributing sources,” Strother said.
“When those things come together in the presence of heat and sunlight, it forms ozone. … That air gets trapped down into the Valley, with warmer air on top of cool air, air becomes stagnant and will stick around the Valley.”
The Environmental Protection Agency defines particle pollution as a mixture of solid and liquid droplets suspended in the air such as dust, dirt, soot or smoke.
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