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(Laura Lundquist is quickly establishing herself as an advocacy writer pretending to be a reporter. I've commented on her writing here, here, and here. It's hard to miss the regurgitation of press release talking points in this article.
(Laura Lundquist is quickly establishing herself as an advocacy writer pretending to be a reporter. I've commented on her writing here, here, and here. It's hard to miss the regurgitation of press release talking points in this article.
The American Lung Association provided the air quality grades we are reading about here. The Gallatin valley has had THREE bad air days in four years, and received a "C" grade. But Looking at the ALA's rankings, we can see that there are cities that have chronic air quality problems. As you look through these lists, you will note that California dominates the poor air quality rankings. This is the same California that has the most stringent air pollution controls in the country. Apparently they aren't working that well.
Absent from the writer's report is that Gallatin County improved from a D to a C. But what's really interesting is the ALA's chart of Montana counties. There's little or no data for almost all of Montana. Which makes me wonder, the "C" grade... what is it compared to? What is the data set? Is Montana really an at risk place for people to live? I spent a lot of time on the ALA website and could find precious little on state-to-state rankings. So can we ask, is the ALA simply trying to spread fear and get people on board with its big government agenda? Do we really need to ask?)
Chronicle Staff Writer
For the past few years, sooty air has occasionally blurred some of the Big Sky and posed health threats for Montanans, according to an American Lung Association report.
In its “State of the Air” national report released Wednesday, the American Lung Association graded nine Montana counties, and only three received high marks for overall air quality. That’s troubling news for
those with respiratory problems like asthma or emphysema.
Gallatin County received a “C” grade due to three days where the air quality reached unhealthy levels between 2009 and 2011, according to Department of Environmental quality records.
Flathead, Richland and Sanders counties sailed through those three years with no unhealthy air quality while Silver Bow, Lewis and Clark, and Ravalli counties flunked for the amount of pollution in their air. Silver
Bow County led with 19 days where air quality stayed unhealthy over a 24-hour period.
The nine counties are the only ones in Montana with air-quality sensors sensitive enough to measure soot particles as small as 2.5 micrometers, one thirtieth the width of a human hair. That may seem too small to cause problems, but tiny particles can get deeper into the lungs of people with respiratory problems and irritate lung passageways. Sneezing can expel larger particles, but micro particles can sneak by the body’s defenses and even migrate into the blood stream.
Studies continue to document how small-particle pollution can trigger illness, hospitalization and occasionally premature death.
So when the level of particle pollution is categorized as “unhealthy,” children and people with respiratory illnesses should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
In Gallatin County, the worst year was 2009 when West Yellowstone had two of the three days where airborne soot exceeded the allowable limit.
In 2010, a sensor in Belgrade registered the one other unhealthy day, while a second day was just a notch below unhealthy. Last year, the DEQ moved the Belgrade sensor to Bozeman High School to better monitor the valley’s population center.
The cause of these three air quality events was not evident in the report. But Eric Merchant, DEQ air quality policy and planning supervisor, said in Montana, poor air quality is often caused by extended inversions,
where warmer air aloft keeps cold air locked in mountain valleys and air particles can accumulate for hours or days.
“Gallatin County, and most of eastern Montana, has pretty good air quality, but it can get elevated levels of particulates from wood stoves and car exhaust in the winter,” Merchant said.
This report did not include measurements from 2012, when the valley was cloaked in wildfire smoke and had at least a dozen summer days with unhealthy air quality.
Merchant said wildfires are one of the main reasons for maintaining the air quality sensors, although DEQ also uses them to demonstrate the state’s compliance with Clean Air Act standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency has provided funding for monitoring, but that may be lost or diminished now that the EPA budget has been cut in the sequester. The EPA is implementing mandatory furlough days for its employees in an effort to save money for important programs.
But Merchant said Montana is invested in the air-quality monitoring program.
“We have a very established program that is a department priority,” Merchant said. “These are important tools, particularly with Montana’s wildfires, to let people know when the air is unhealthy.”
Chronicle Staff Writer
For the past few years, sooty air has occasionally blurred some of the Big Sky and posed health threats for Montanans, according to an American Lung Association report.
In its “State of the Air” national report released Wednesday, the American Lung Association graded nine Montana counties, and only three received high marks for overall air quality. That’s troubling news for
those with respiratory problems like asthma or emphysema.
Gallatin County received a “C” grade due to three days where the air quality reached unhealthy levels between 2009 and 2011, according to Department of Environmental quality records.
Flathead, Richland and Sanders counties sailed through those three years with no unhealthy air quality while Silver Bow, Lewis and Clark, and Ravalli counties flunked for the amount of pollution in their air. Silver
Bow County led with 19 days where air quality stayed unhealthy over a 24-hour period.
The nine counties are the only ones in Montana with air-quality sensors sensitive enough to measure soot particles as small as 2.5 micrometers, one thirtieth the width of a human hair. That may seem too small to cause problems, but tiny particles can get deeper into the lungs of people with respiratory problems and irritate lung passageways. Sneezing can expel larger particles, but micro particles can sneak by the body’s defenses and even migrate into the blood stream.
Studies continue to document how small-particle pollution can trigger illness, hospitalization and occasionally premature death.
So when the level of particle pollution is categorized as “unhealthy,” children and people with respiratory illnesses should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
In Gallatin County, the worst year was 2009 when West Yellowstone had two of the three days where airborne soot exceeded the allowable limit.
In 2010, a sensor in Belgrade registered the one other unhealthy day, while a second day was just a notch below unhealthy. Last year, the DEQ moved the Belgrade sensor to Bozeman High School to better monitor the valley’s population center.
The cause of these three air quality events was not evident in the report. But Eric Merchant, DEQ air quality policy and planning supervisor, said in Montana, poor air quality is often caused by extended inversions,
where warmer air aloft keeps cold air locked in mountain valleys and air particles can accumulate for hours or days.
“Gallatin County, and most of eastern Montana, has pretty good air quality, but it can get elevated levels of particulates from wood stoves and car exhaust in the winter,” Merchant said.
This report did not include measurements from 2012, when the valley was cloaked in wildfire smoke and had at least a dozen summer days with unhealthy air quality.
Merchant said wildfires are one of the main reasons for maintaining the air quality sensors, although DEQ also uses them to demonstrate the state’s compliance with Clean Air Act standards.
The Environmental Protection Agency has provided funding for monitoring, but that may be lost or diminished now that the EPA budget has been cut in the sequester. The EPA is implementing mandatory furlough days for its employees in an effort to save money for important programs.
But Merchant said Montana is invested in the air-quality monitoring program.
“We have a very established program that is a department priority,” Merchant said. “These are important tools, particularly with Montana’s wildfires, to let people know when the air is unhealthy.”
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