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S.J. flunks clean-air report again. California counties dominate American Lung Association list.

Published in the Stockton Record on 04/29/04

A top clean-air group has given San Joaquin County a failing grade for its smog problem for the fifth year in a row.

The county is one of 34 in California that received at least one "F" by the American Lung Association in its annual State of the Air Report released today.

Yet hidden deep in the 237-page report is a tiny piece of good news for San Joaquin County residents. The county was given a "D" for its particulate-pollution problem. That's the best grade given to any county within the San Joaquin Valley.

The report analyzes how frequently and severely counties and cities exceed federal health-based limits for smog and particulate pollution. The data is averaged over three years, starting in 2000. Those are the most recent years with verified data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Smog is formed when different emissions -- from sources such as cars and animal waste -- are heated by sunlight in the air. Particulate pollution comprises microscopic flecks of soot, vapor and dust. Those particles lodge deep into lungs. Air pollution has been linked to asthma attacks, impaired lung function, premature deaths, increased hospitalizations and cancer.

In the new report, counties received up to three grades: one for smog, one for annual exposure to particulate pollution and one for daylong peaks in particulate pollution. It's the first year the Lung Association's report included analysis of particulate pollution.

"We want the public to understand the seriousness of the air-pollution problem. It's deadly, causes asthma attacks, causes people to go to the hospital and emergency room," said Bonnie Holmes-Gen, a spokeswoman with the Lung Association.

"We need to make sure there is public support for stronger air policies and that our politicians will stand up for clean air," she said.

Although California often ranks as the biggest air-pollution hotspot in the nation, it is possible to clear the air here, Holmes-Gen said.

"It will take substantial investment in alternative fuels and lower polluting vehicles, but it can be done," she said.

The report also ranked the top 25 most polluted counties in the country. Valley counties regularly turned up on lists comparing cities for smog pollution, long-term particulate problems and short-term particulate pollution.

The smoggiest county in the nation was San Bernardino, and next-door Riverside County was top ranked in the report for short-term and long-term particulate pollution.

San Joaquin County didn't make the top 25 list in any of the three categories, but that doesn't mean the air is healthy to breathe, experts said.

"This report really underscores the problem with air quality in the San Joaquin Valley," said Kelly Hogan Malay, a spokeswoman for the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.

"Fixing this is not going to be easy or painless. The public is going to have to make some sacrifices, as will businesses and industry," Malay said.

The air district is in charge of drafting pollution-cutting plans so that the region can meet federal standards. New smog limits recently announced by the EPA would give the region until 2013 to have clean air or face possible sanctions. In the worst-case scenario, the Valley could lose more than $2 billion in federal road-building dollars for not having a workable plan to clean the air.

The air district, however, has no control over vehicle-tailpipe emissions -- the No. 1 source of Valley air pollution. Regulating car and truck emissions is primarily the responsibility of the federal government.

To view the American Lung Association's report, go to www.californialung.org.

By Audrey Cooper

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