| Filthy air |
[May. 10th, 2008|09:44 am] |
When we picked out the Prius, we picked it more for the <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sulev>SULEV</a> quality -- super ultra low emissions -- than for the gas milage. I didn't want to be adding any more crap to the air around here. One thing i wonder about, though, is if the heavier car creates more particulates from tire rubber. Dust from worn tires is probably as bad a culprit in air pollution as exhaust hydrocarbons.
"A recent health effects study in Denver suggests that latex in road dust produced as vehicle tires wear is probably responsible for an increase in asthma attacks and asthma-related deaths in the United States during the last decade. Road dust, including tiny bits of tire wear, can account for up to 50% of particulate pollution in urban areas, AQMD officials said."
-- source: South Coast Air Quality Management District, http://www.aqmd.gov/tao/roaddust.html
I'm reminded because of this story on my local air quality:
Some of the most polluted air in the country is being breathed in Santa Clara County, according to a just released American Lung Association report. ... Santa Clara County ranked 19th out of the 25 counties most polluted by short-term particle pollution, measuring the number of days the county's air was in the unhealthful range for a 24-hour period or longer.
Particle pollution contributes to stroke, lung cancer, asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and cardiovascular disease, said Dr. Tony Gerber, a pulmonary specialist and American Lung Association volunteer....
Where one lives also increases risk. Persons residing near freeways have a higher risk of lung-related disease and aggravation of existing conditions due to their exposure to air pollutants, according to the report.
I live extremely close to the intersection of two major commuter freeways: half a mile from 101 and less than 500 feet from 85. Gee, i wonder why my coughing last longer and this "cough variant asthma" diagnosis keeps crossing my doctor's lips..... |
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| Comments: |
I looked up the actual site, because I found that ranking really surprising and suspected it was within the state, not the country. I found it extremely difficult to navigate and I never did find national rankings--just a list of numbers and grades within a state, and even that only searchable by ZIP code, even though it rolls entire counties together, which really doesn't make much sense for Santa Clara--I doubt downtown San Jose and the wilderness on the other side of Mt Hamilton have the same degree of pollution; for that matter isn't East Palo Alto, with its notorious pollution problems, in San Mateo County, which got a far better grade? I gave up in frustration after extracting and copying the stats for 3 of the places I've lived. I noted that they really wanted me to look things up on a state basis, because that's how their branches are organized--but how much sense does that make, either? Many places are near or even straddle a state line.
I support the Lung Association's work, but I suspect either alarmism or misunderstanding in that newspaper report, and I give them a D for communication. I shouldn't have to download a huge report in pdf to see what the most polluted counties in the US are, and since the map on the site features cities, I should be able to get data for cities independent of counties.
. . . One of the reasons I followed up on this was I am not at all sure how perceptible particulate pollution is to the eye. It's supposedly the smallest particles that are worst, and I wonder how the numbers vary over short distances. This valley is notorious for microclimatic variation, and I am wondering how that affects particulate pollution; similarly, we have heavily built-up commercial highways (El Camino) and highways that run in a cut and a few that are elevated--do they all spray lung irritants to the same distance? In regards to things like tire wear, is the stop and go on El Cam worse, or the high speeds on the newer highways? I'd think this would be a good region in which to document such variations, but I guess I'd have to download the entire report even to figure out how standardized the placement of the monitoring stations is. Phooey.
M | |
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