Weather blamed as county flunks air quality test
Alachua County received an F for ozone and a C for particle pollution.
Alachua County received a failing grade for air quality in a new report, but the grade might have more to do with the weather than an increase in local pollution.
The American Lung Association's "State of the Air" report gave Alachua County an F grade for ozone and a C grade for particle pollution based on data from 2005 to 2007.
Marion County earned a C in both categories.
The grades are a distinct slide from the 2008 report card in which Alachua County and Marion County each earned an A for ozone and a B for particle pollution.
But the drop could say more about the weather than any change in local pollution sources, said Chris Bird, director of the Alachua County Environmental Protection Department.
Although Bird said automobiles and a local coal-fired power plant can negatively affect air quality, the local grade often has been influenced by wind-blown pollution from faraway places. The grade has varied widely over the years, he said, dropping in one year because of a wildfire in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.
"I wish I could either take credit or find blame, but in a lot of cases, you can't do either," he said.
The national report card on air quality ranks cities and counties on particle pollution and ozone, a key component of smog.
In the most recent report, Alachua County received an F, with 10 days in which ground-level ozone levels were high enough to put pollution-sensitive residents at risk by the Lung Association's standards.
In another category, the county earned a C after logging five days in which particle levels in the air were high enough to put some at risk.
Nearby Marion County earned a C for both ozone and particle pollution, with six high-ozone days noted.
The Lung Association introduced tougher standards for measuring ozone levels in March 2008. Ozone and particle pollution can aggravate asthma and reduce lung function, making breathing difficult for those with bronchitis, emphysema, cardiovascular disease or diabetes.
"This standard recognizes that even lower levels of ozone can be more harmful than previously thought," said Brenda Olson, the organization's chief operating officer in Florida.
Local pollution sources include cars and Gainesville Regional Utilities' coal-fired power plants. Bird said weather patterns can determine if those sources affect local air quality.
"In summer, you have the combination of lots of sunlight and lingering air that doesn't allow pollutants to disperse because we're inland and don't get a sea breeze," he said.
He said residents can improve air quality by turning down their air-conditioning levels and driving less.
But fires also contribute to air pollution and already have been a problem in this dry spring. In 2007, the largest wildfire in Georgia history caused ozone readings to spike in Alachua County.
"This is probably more of a regional effect," Bird said. "Gainesville and Alachua County don't operate in a bubble."
According to the current report, six of every 10 people in the United States live in counties that have unhealthy levels of either ozone or particle pollution.
The full report can be viewed online at www.stateoftheair.org.
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