How good is the air you’re breathing? A new report examines local air pollution data
The biggest sources of air pollution in Washington state in 2020 were wildfires and vehicles, showed a new report released Tuesday, Oct. 5.
The report from a handful of environmental and public health groups took a closer look at air pollution across the nation last year.
In Bellingham, they documented about two weeks of bad air.
“Every year air pollution causes hundreds of thousands of Americans to die too early,” said Nicole Walter, who works for the WashPIRG Foundation that helped write the report.
“Even one day of breathing in polluted air is dangerous for our health,” Walter continued in a Tuesday morning presentation to the media.
The organizations called for a rapid transition off fossil fuels, including coal and natural gas, as well as policies establishing stronger air quality standards.
The report, “Trouble In The Air,” was compiled by WashPIRG Foundation, Environment Washington Research & Policy Center and Frontier Group. Air quality can vary even over short distances due to weather conditions and pollution sources, which is why it is important to look at local data, the report explains.
It examines federal data on fine particulates, which are tiny specks of air pollution, and ground-level ozone, which is the main ingredient in “smog,” according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Both fine particulates and ground-level ozone are linked to life-threatening conditions such as asthma and heart disease.
Which WA cities have the worst air quality?
In 2020, the Bellingham metropolitan area saw two days with elevated ozone levels and 12 days with elevated particulate matter levels, the report found.
“Elevated” levels of air pollution are those at or above what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency determines as “moderate” in its Air Quality Index, the report said.
The area in Washington that saw the most days with elevated ozone was Kennewick-Richland, at 10 days. The area that saw the most days with elevated particulate was Okanagan County, at 109 days, followed closely by Spokane-Spokane Valley at 102 days.
The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area experienced eight days of elevated ozone and 41 days of elevated particulate, the report found. The Mount Vernon-Anacortes area saw no days with either elevated ozone or fine particulate. It’s important to note the Mount Vernon-Anacortes area was also monitored for fewer days than most other areas analyzed in Washington.
Some locations did not have air quality monitors for either ozone or particulate, so data is missing in those cases. The report acknowledged the shortcomings in its information, explaining that there were likely more days of elevated air pollution than it recorded.
“Air quality monitors report pollution levels at different time intervals, and not all of them report year-round,” the authors wrote. “This analysis therefore likely presents an undercount of the number of days of elevated pollution experienced around the country.”
Climate change worsens air pollution
The report notes that human-caused climate change and air pollution are deeply intertwined. One of the main sources of air pollution in the state is the transportation sector. That includes cars, buses, trains, ships and farm equipment, many of which rely on fossil fuels like gasoline and diesel.
“It is clear that fossil fuel combustion is one of the main sources of air pollution,” the report said. “And it is increasingly clear that global warming will both exacerbate the air pollution problem and be accelerated by many forms of air pollution.”
For example, climate change is linked to hotter, drier conditions and has extended the wildfire season in the western U.S. by at least 84 days a year, the report said.
Wildfire smoke is a cocktail of harmful air pollutants that causes short-term symptoms, like coughing and eye irritation, as well as triggers those with more serious health conditions, such as lung and heart disease, according to the Washington State Department of Health.
The report’s authors recommended that policymakers electrify sectors across the economy, such as transportation, buildings and industry, while simultaneously ramping up clean energy generation from sources like wind and solar.
They also urged leaders to build on the federal Clean Air Act by holding polluters accountable and expanding air quality monitoring.
This story was originally published October 5, 2021 at 10:59 AM.
