NH's Air Quality Gradually Improving

The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2013 report released this week finds that ozone levels improved in many counties in New Hampshire since the 2012 report while there was little change in either short-term or year-round particle pollution (soot) levels.

Overall, State of the Air 2013 shows that the air quality in New Hampshire and across the country, continues the longstanding trend towards much healthier air.

“Despite our progress in cleaning up our air, we know that national air quality standards are still not strong enough to protect public health,” said Jeff Seyler, President & CEO of the American Lung Association of the Northeast. “We need strong policies in place on the federal, state and local levels to ensure healthier air to breathe.  Tighter standards and stronger policies will help us reach our goal of seeing a report card which is giving straight A’s across the nation.”

Ozone (smog) is the most widespread air pollutant, created by the reaction of sunlight on emissions from vehicles and other sources. When ozone is inhaled, it irritates the lungs, almost like a bad sunburn. It can cause immediate health problems that continue days later. Ozone can cause wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks and premature death. 

Significant findings from the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2013 report for New Hampshire include:

Rockingham County:

• Ozone grade improved from D to C ( 6 unhealthy days, 1 less than in 2012)
• Short-term particle pollution grade remained a B ( 1 unhealthy day, same as 2012)
• Data insufficient to render a grade for annual particle pollution (County passed in 2012).

Cheshire and Grafton counties improved their grades for ozone from Bs to As while Coos County improved its grade from a C to a B.  Both Hillsborough and Rockingham counties earned C’s this year compared with the D’s they received in last year’s report. Merrimack and Belknap both earned Bs, the same as in 2012.  Sullivan County no longer has an ozone monitor and did not receive a grade.  The Boston-Worcester-Manchester metro area ranked tied for 68th on the list of most polluted cities for ozone.  This is an improvement over the metro area’s ranking in the 2012 report when the area ranked tied for 45th.  Still, the area’s weighted average for ozone (3.3 unhealthy days) remained unchanged.  The Claremont-Lebanon (NH-VT) area ranked among the cleanest cities for ozone with no unhealthy days.  Similarly, both Cheshire and Grafton counties had no days with unhealthy levels of ozone and ranked among the cleanest counties for ozone pollution.

Particle pollution, called fine particulate matter or PM 2.5, is a deadly cocktail of ash, soot, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols that can spike dangerously for hours to weeks on end. The body's natural defenses, coughing and sneezing, fail to keep these microscopic particles from burrowing deep within the lungs, triggering serious problems such as asthma and heart attacks, strokes, lung cancer and even early death. Much like ozone pollution is likened to a sunburn on the lungs, exposure to particle pollution has been compared to rubbing sandpaper on the lungs.

There were only slight changes in New Hampshire counties’ annual particle pollution levels though data was insufficient to render a grade for two counties, Grafton and Rockingham (both counties had passed in 2012).  And since Sullivan no longer has a particle pollution monitor, the county did not receive a grade in this year’s report.  With the exception of Merrimack, all counties that did receive grades had annual levels that either stayed the same or improved slightly. Merrimack’s saw its annual level of particle pollution increase slightly from 8.5 to 8.6.  The Boston-Worcester-Manchester metro area ranked tied for 11th on the list of most polluted cities for annual particle pollution out of 220 metro areas ranked. This was the metro area’s best annual level since the report began. 

For short-term particle pollution, no grades changed but New Hampshire was not immune to the spikes in unhealthy air days that showed up in many areas of the nation.  Cheshire County, which received a C both this year and last, had three additional orange unhealthy days and saw its weighted average double. Rockingham which received a B saw its weighted average increase after experiencing a red day, which means that the air is unhealthy not just for sensitive groups, but for all people.  Belknap, Grafton and Hillsborough Counties experienced no days with unhealthy levels and earned a spot on the list of cleanest counties for short-term particle pollution.

“The air in New Hampshire is certainly cleaner than when we started the ‘State of the Air’ report 14 years ago,” said Lee Gilman, Senior Director of Health Education & Public Policy for the American Lung Association in New Hampshire.  “Even though we experienced some additional unhealthy days of short-term particle pollution in some counties the air quality is still better compared to a decade ago.  But the work is not done, and we must set stronger health standards for pollutants and cleanup sources of pollution across the state to protect the health of our citizens.” 

Despite improvements, State of the Air 2013 found that more than 131.8 million people in the U.S. still live in counties that have unhealthy levels of either ozone or particle pollution, which equates to more than 4 in 10 people (42 percent). 

The Lung Association led the fight for a new, national air quality standard that strengthened outdated limits on annual levels of particle pollution, announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last December. Thanks to tough air pollution laws together with EPA’s enforcement of strong air pollution health standards, like this one, set under the Clean Air Act the U.S. has seen continued reductions in air pollution. 

Cleaning up major air pollution sources through steps like the recently proposed cleaner gasoline and vehicle Standards will drastically cut both ozone and particle pollution levels. These new, more protective standards would limit sulfur in gasoline for the cost of about one penny per gallon and would tighten the limits on tailpipe emissions from new vehicles. That means more health protections for the nearly 132 million people living in counties with dangerous levels of either ozone or particle pollution. Those at greatest risk from air pollution include infants, children, older adults, anyone with lung diseases like asthma and COPD, people with heart disease or diabetes, low-income communities and anyone who works or exercises outdoors.

The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2013 report is an annual, national air quality “report card.” The 2013 report—the 14th annual release—uses the most recent quality assured air pollution data, compiled by the EPA, in 2009, 2010, and 2011.  Data comes from the official monitors for the two most widespread types of pollution, ozone (smog) and particle pollution (PM 2.5, also known as soot). The report grades counties and ranks cities and counties based on their scores for ozone, year-round particle pollution and short-term particle pollution levels.

The American Lung Association of the Northeast urges the public to join the fight for clean air and to learn how to protect themselves and their families from air pollution by visiting www.stateoftheair.org. The public can also support the fight for air by taking part in or supporting the Lung Association in New Hampshire’s 4th annual Cycle the Seacoast in Portsmouth on May 6. Cyclists will choose from three route options - 25, 50, and 100 miles - across the Portsmouth seacoast. Cycle the Seacoast hopes to raise $130,000 that helps fund research, education and advocacy related to the Lung Association’s mission to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. For more information, to register, or to make a donation that could save lives, visit www.Biketreknewengland.org. For more information on air quality in New Hampshire, visit us online at www.lungne.org and follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LungNE and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LungNE.