County’s Air Gets Cleaner

After a year of windier weather, Ventura County’s very smoggy skies are getting a little bit cleaner.

Ventura County was ranked the 14th smoggiest county in California during the three years from 1997 to 1999, according to a report card released by the state chapter of the American Lung Assn. That’s down from seventh during the three-year period from 1996 to 1998.

But the county still earned a grade of F--as did 32 other counties--for its air quality.

“It’s a substantial problem, not just for people with asthma,” said Andy Weisser, a spokesman for the American Lung Assn. of California. “Ozone air pollution isn’t healthy for anyone to breathe.”

The grade is based on the average number of days a county’s ozone levels exceeded federal standards for the elderly, children or people with respiratory problems. According to the study, more than eight out of 10 Californians are breathing very unhealthy air.

Ozone is a toxic gas formed when nitrogen oxide meets sunlight and heat. It can affect one’s ability to breathe, even for very healthy people.

Ventura County had an average of 35 unhealthful days during the three years of the study--weighted to account for the severity of the smog--compared with 44.7 days in Los Angeles County and 4.7 days in Santa Barbara County. Both of those counties also received F grades. San Bernardino County received the worst rating in the state.

The American Lung Assn. based its second annual report, released last week, on findings by the state Environmental Protection Agency.

Keith Duval, compliance manager at the county’s Air Pollution Control District, noted that air quality has been steadily improving in the county and throughout the state. But he noted that the marked improvement in Ventura County between last year’s report and this year’s could be attributed to breezier weather, which kept ozone from settling.

The smog season typically lasts from May through October. Ozone settles near the ground during the hot summer months.

“Our smog numbers have really been pretty good,” Duval said.

Many of those improvements can be attributed to tighter controls on such businesses as power plants, gas stations, automobile service shops and car manufacturers, Duval said.

Because of the energy crisis, the pollution control district temporarily allowed the Mandalay power station to release more nitrogen oxide than usual. In exchange, the plant is expected to put in better pollution controls by the middle of the summer.

Weisser blamed much of the problem on increasing population and the resulting traffic. People need to think about how they can reduce air pollution individually, he said.

“We’re trying to make people aware of the very real health effects,” he said. “We can encourage telecommuting. We can encourage car-pooling. People ask, ‘What’s a conference call going to do?’ Well, add up all the miles [saved by not driving].”

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