LAKE COUNTY — With noticeably clear skies and fresh air, Lake County ranked as having the 10th cleanest air in the nation for the annual particulate average concentrations, according to the American Lung Association”s State of the Air Report released Wednesday.
Douglas Gearhart, Air Pollution Control Officer of the Lake County Air Quality Management District, said residents, government and business work together to keep the air as clean as possible.
“We just have a lot of people who really care,” Gearhart said. “People think about it and make decisions that improve air quality or minimize degradation of air quality.”
Particle pollution is a mix of tiny solid and liquid particles in the air that can increase the risk of heart disease, lung cancer and asthma attacks and can interfere with the growth and work of the lungs, according to the air report.
Lake County was the only California county to rank among the top 10 counties for cleanest air quality. Mendocino, Inyo, and Santa Cruz counties were the other counties in California to make the top 25. Lake County was also awarded an A grade for ozone and B grade for short-term particulate pollution.
The report based grades on three years of continuous air quality monitoring, 2006 through 2008.
“This is great, especially considering the wildfires in 2008,” Gearhart said.
In the 2009 State of the Air Report, Lake County was ranked third for cleanest air quality based on the particulate pollution average.
The report measured from 2005 through 2007, so it didn”t include the 2008 wildfires as this year”s report did.
Fire protection districts and CalFIRE work with the county to limit pollution. Gearhart said a prime example is the burn ban that went into effect Saturday.
Industry also sets high standards to keep the air quality clean. Gearhart said the Geysers have significant regulations to produce low emissions as compared with looser restrictions in Sonoma County.
Gearhart said people can take obvious steps to reduce pollution.
“The biggest thing is to think about what you”re doing and how that affects air quality before doing it,” Gearhart said.
Gearhart said people could walk to the store versus driving.
“All these little things add up to big things in Lake County,” Gearhart said.
“Everyone knows the actions they take are polluting because you can see it or smell it,” Gearhart said.
Gearhart said strong local support for clean air measures enabled the county to comply with the Federal Clean Air Standards and with the more rigorous California standards for ozone and other air pollutants for the past 20 years. No other air district in California can match that record.
“It is great to have our local community nationally recognized by the American Lung Association for their desire to have and maintain clean and healthful air in Lake County,” he said.
Contact Katy Sweeny at kdsweeny@gmail.com or call her directly at 263-5636, ext. 37.
