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Valley Flunks '06 Air-Quality Report: Bakersfield is Most Ozone-Polluted City; Visalia 3rd, Fresno 4th.

Posted on: Thursday, 27 April 2006, 09:00 CDT

By Barbara Anderson, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Apr. 27--The American Lung Association's annual air-quality report card, made public today, flunks San Joaquin Valley counties for the seventh consecutive year.

Bakersfield took the spot for the most ozone-polluted city in the country, edging out Los Angeles and Riverside. And Kern County topped the list of most-polluted counties for ozone, the main ingredient of smog.

The Visalia-Porterville area wasn't far behind, taking third place for ozone pollution. Los Angeles ranked second. The Fresno-Madera area was fourth; Merced, fifth; Hanford-Corcoran, 11th; and Modesto, 13th. The rankings were based on government pollution readings from 2002 through 2004.

The Valley also fails the report card for particle pollution, tiny specks of dust, soot and chemicals.

Kern County ranked second, behind Riverside County, for short-term particle pollution and was the fourth most-polluted year-round.

Fresno County was the third-worst area in the short-term and seventh long-term. Tulare County was the sixth most polluted year-round, and Kings County was ninth.

But there is a little light filtering through the smog haze.

The San Joaquin Valley learned this week that the California Air Resources Board deemed the area no longer in violation of federal health standards for dangerous particles of dust and soot, called PM-10. The decision was based on pollution measurements from 2003 to 2005.

"The PM-10 attainment is a good indication the control strategies are working and we're seeing a lot of improvement in air quality," said Kelly Morphy, a San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District spokeswoman.

However, the Valley continues to be one of the dirtiest air basins in the country for the tiniest pollution particles, called PM-2.5, which can penetrate deep inside lungs.

A lot of work remains to improve air quality in the Valley, Morphy said. And the air district welcomes the Lung Association's report because "it can help put the public spotlight on air quality," she said. "The report is a really useful tool to the air district … because it really underscores the importance and seriousness of air-quality issues in the San Joaquin Valley."

During a Lung Association telephone conference on the air report, Dr. John Balmes, a San Francisco pulmonary physician, said the Valley's air problems continue to be severe.

"It's premature to say the Central Valley has turned the corner in controlling air pollution," said Balmes, who serves on the American Lung Association of California's Clean Air Technical Advisory Group.

Richard Fallon, executive director of the American Lung Association in Kern County, said explosive growth in the Valley adds to air pollution problems. Said Fallon: "We definitely have a big challenge here."

The reporter can be reached at banderson@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6310.

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Copyright (c) 2006, The Fresno Bee, Calif.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The Fresno Bee

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