Maine Air Quality Improved but Still High Levels of Ozone Pollution
Bangor named one of four cleanest cities in the Northeast but York County receives an “F” for unhealthy levels of ozone pollution in Lung Association’s 2016 State of the Air Report
(AUGUSTA) Air quality in Maine and around the country is improving, according to the American Lung Association’s 17th annual State of the Air report released today, and Bangor was ranked as one of the four cleanest cities in the Northeast. But despite the trend, high ozone levels continue to plague many counties in Maine, especially in southern and coastal regions. York County received a grade of “F” for ozone pollution and Cumberland County received a “D”. Knox and Hancock both received a grade of “C” for ozone pollution. The town of York, a popular beach town in the summer, had the unhealthiest air in region, according to the national study.
“We are very happy for Bangor and to be seeing healthier air overall,” said Jeff Seyler, President & CEO of the American Lung Association of the Northeast. “This is 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.”
Each year 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”.
“Air pollution doesn’t respect state borders and the health effects can be very dangerous,” stated Dr. Marguerite Pennoyer, an allergist and immunologist from 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 the ever-growing impacts of climate change, and you’ve got a recipe for expensive health problems for generations to come.”
“I wouldn’t wish this experience on anyone,” said Jeanette MacNeille, a Topsham resident with asthma. "I have had hundreds of severe asthma episodes, and each comes with the unstoppable terror from being unable to breathe. There is nothing more important than cleaning up our air so that Maine children and adults don’t have to face asthma attacks so often in the future."
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.
The State of the Air report covers data collected in 2012, 2013 and 2014, and analyzes particle pollution in two ways - through average annual particle pollution levels and short-term spikes in particle pollution. Nationwide, the best progress in this year’s report came in reducing year-round levels of particle pollution. In Maine, year-round particle pollution levels were similar to those in the 2015 report, with all counties with particulate monitors receiving either an “A” or a “B” grade. These same counties did not see any spikes in short-term particle pollution that reached unhealthy levels.
“Here in Maine we are on the receiving end of pollution from states to the south and west of us,” said Tyler St. Clair, Healthy Air Coordinator for the American Lung Association in Maine. “We depend on our neighbors to keep our air healthy. That’s why we need strong national ozone standards and common sense limits on carbon pollution from power plants. Maine’s Congressional delegation must push back against the relentless efforts of polluters to weaken or dismantle the Clean Air Act. We need to make the same progress on ozone pollution that we’ve made on soot particles. Maine kids shouldn’t have to wait one more day for healthier air.”
York County, home to almost 200,000 people, had 14 days of unhealthy ozone levels in the three-year reporting period. Cumberland County, with a population of 285,000, followed with nine unhealthy ozone days, while Knox County had five and Hancock County had four unhealthy days.
“Ozone is harmful to public health and especially children, older adults and those with asthma and other lung diseases,” added Pennoyer. “When older adults or children with asthma breathe ozone-polluted air, too often they end up in the doctor’s office, the hospital or the emergency room.”
Nationwide, ozone pollution has decreased because of efforts to clean up major sources of the emissions that create ozone, especially coal-fired power plants and vehicles. But counter-balancing this reduction in emissions is the growing impact of climate change, which brings warmer temperatures worldwide that lead to the creation of more ozone 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 and are amplifying 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, put protective ozone standards into use, and ensure that health protections under the Clean Air Act remain effective and enforced.”
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The American Lung Association “State of the Air 2016” report uses the most recent quality-assured air pollution data, collected by federal, state and local governments and tribes in 2012, 2013 and 2014. 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.Lung.org
Significant findings from the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2016 report for Maine include:
Androscoggin:
· Ozone grade of an A.
· Made the list of cleanest counties for ozone pollution again, with no unhealthy days.
· Short-term particle pollution grade remained an A with zero unhealthy days; Annual particle pollution level improved slightly.
Aroostook:
· Ozone grade of an A.
· Short-term particle pollution worsened from an A to a B with 1 red day.
· Annual particle pollution level slightly improved.
Cumberland:
· Ozone grade of a D.
· Short-term particle pollution remained an A with zero unhealthy days.
· Annual particle pollution level slightly worse.
· Portland-Lewiston-South Portland metro region ranked tied for 99th on the list of most polluted for ozone pollution.
Hancock:
· Ozone grade of a C.
· Short-term particle pollution remained an A, with no unhealthy days.
· Annual particle pollution level was slightly worse.
Kennebec:
· Ozone grade of a B
· Short-term particle pollution grade remained an A; no unhealthy days (same as 2015).
· Annual particle pollution level remained the same.
Knox:
· Ozone grade of a C.
· No particle pollution monitor.
Oxford:
· Ozone grade of an A
· Short-term particle pollution grade remained an A with zero unhealthy days.
· Annual particle pollution level was slightly worse.
Penobscot:
· Ozone grade of a B.
· Short-term particle pollution grade remained an A; no unhealthy days (same as 2015).
· Annual particle pollution level improved.
· Made the list of cleanest counties for short-term particle pollution again.
· Bangor made the list of cleanest cities for short-term particle pollution again.
· Bangor made the list of cleanest cities for annual particle pollution.
· Bangor ranked tied for 189th for most polluted cities for ozone.
Sagadahoc:
· Ozone grade of a B.
· No particle pollution monitor.
Washington:
· Ozone grade of a B
· No particle pollution monitor.
York:
· Ozone grade remained an F.
· Ozone level worsened.
· No particle pollution monitor.
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