To the Editor,
While the number of days ozone (smog) levels have been deemed “unhealthy” in Connecticut has steadily decreased in recent years, Connecticut still has a major problem with smog as the headline makes abundantly clear [CT, again, has worst smog in New England]. It’s bad enough that four Connecticut counties received “F’s” for ozone in the Lung Association’s State of the Air Report 2013; it’s even worse when we consider that these grades are based on ozone levels set by the Environmental Protection Agency that science now says aren’t safe enough. When it comes to ozone, EPA has been grading with a curve that’s unfair to all of us.
Just last month, the research arm of the World Health Organization officially classified outdoor air pollution as a carcinogen and stated that it’s become a leading cause for lung cancer. Ozone 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 bad sunburn. It can cause immediate health problems that continue days later and can cause wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks and even lead to premature death.
While the air is cleaner in Connecticut than it used to be, we shouldn’t allow better grades or fewer unhealthy days lull us into a false sense of security about the risks ozone poses to our lung health. We need to continue to defend the Clean Air Act; we need to continue cleaning up sources of pollution; and we need to continue fighting for a tighter ozone standard that is most protective of public health.
Jeff Seyler president & CEO American Lung Association of the Northeast
