EMBARGOED UNTIL: 5 a.m. (ET), April 27, 2011 CONTACT: Deborah Brown President & CEO, Mid-Atlantic Region Phone: (610) 563-6992 (cell) Email: dbrown@lunginfo.org Kevin M. Stewart Director, Environmental Health American Lung Association, Mid-Atlantic Phone: (717) 541-5864 x56 or (717) 330-1790 (cell) Email: kstewart@ lunginfo.org West Virginia Scores Mixed Grades in American Lung Association’s Annual State of the Air Report Nearly Half of West Virginians Live in Areas Earning at Least One “F” for Air Pollution Despite Improvements in Air Pollution, Unhealthy Levels of Ozone and Daily Particle Pollution Persist West Virginia Cities and Counties Among 25 Most Polluted Places in U.S. Editors’ Note: Multimedia toolkit including broadcast quality b-roll and photographs are available at www.stateoftheair.com. Trend charts and rankings for metropolitan areas and county grades are available at www.stateoftheair.org. Cabell County Worst in State for Ozone, Among Group of Five Counties Earning “F’s” for Pollutant Marshall County Worst in State for Short-term Particle Pollution, Placing Wheeling Metro Area at No. 25 in Most Polluted Cities in the U.S. Kanawha County at 2nd Worst Rank in State for All Three Pollutants of Ozone, Short-term and Year-Round Particle Pollution Five West Virginia Metro Areas on List of 25 U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution, Despite Passing Weak Standard For the First Time Ever in State of the Air Report, All Pollution Measures in WV (Weighted Average Annual Days of Poor Air Quality, Long-Term Concentrations) Show Improvement, Although Some Grades and Rankings Do Not Also For the First Time, of Twelve West Virginia Counties Graded for Annual Particle Pollution, All Pass Weak Standard CHARLESTON, W.V. [Embargoed Until: 5 AM (EDT), April 27, 2011] – People in West Virginia are breathing dangerous levels of ozone (smog) and fine particle pollution (“soot”), although levels of both pollutants have improved statewide, according to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2011 report, which gave West Virginia very different grades for the most widespread outdoor pollutants that threaten the lives and health of Americans. Several West Virginia counties and metropolitan areas made the top 25 most polluted lists. Kanawha and Brooke counties tied for the 14th worst in the nation for most polluted for year-round particle pollution. In fact, those two counties, plus Cabell (17th worst), Berkeley (tied for 24th), and Wood (30th) Counties, for a second year, had annual levels of fine particle pollution high enough to place five metropolitan areas on the list of 25 most polluted cities in the nation for that pollutant: • Charleston, WV 12th worst metro area (city) • Steubenville-Weirton, WV-OH 12th worst • Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH 15th worst • Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV 20th worst, and • Parkersburg-Marietta, WV-OH 24th worst. Even more, Marion County brought Fairmont-Clarksburg, West Virginia in at 28th worst metropolitan area for annual particle pollution, and Marshall County landed the Wheeling, West VirginiaOhio Metropolitan Area in the 34th worst spot. In fact, the Wheeling metropolitan area was also tied for 24th place with five other U.S. cities among those most polluted by short-term (daily) fine particle pollution. Among the most ozone-polluted cities in the report, the Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, D.C.Maryland-Virginia-West Virginia Combined Statistical Area, which includes Hampshire and Jefferson Counties in West Virginia, was tied for 14th worst in the nation. Although Brooke, Kanawha and Marshall Counties continued their long series of “F’s” for shortterm particle pollution, perhaps the best news here is that Hancock County earned its first passing grade (“D”) after several “F’s.” Cabell, Monongalia, and Ohio Counties again each scored a “C”; Wood County continued its improving trend and joined them. Raleigh County earned its sixth straight “B” and Berkeley, Harrison and Marion Counties joined it with their first “B’s.” Meanwhile, for the first time, all twelve counties graded for annual particle pollution levels scored a passing grade, even though, for most if not all of those counties, the American Lung Association finds that the average levels of particle pollution measured were insufficiently low to protect public health. Brooke, Cabell and Kanawha Counties were the three counties that had received failing grades for this pollutant measure in last year’s State of the Air report. Cabell, Hancock, Kanawha, Ohio and Wood Counties again scored “F’s” for ozone. Monongalia County improved to a “C” from an “F” in last year’s report, Berkeley County to a “C” from a “D,” and Greenbrier County received its third “C” in a row. Nationally, this year’s report finds that the majority of American cities most-polluted by ozone or year-round particle pollution have improved, thanks to continued progress in the cleanup of deadly toxics required by the Clean Air Act. The Lung Association’s annual air quality report reveals that just over half the nation—154.5 million people—live in areas with levels of ozone and/or particle pollution that are often dangerous to breathe. Even though so many people live in areas where bad air can make them sick, some members of Congress are proposing changes to the Clean Air Act that would weaken the enforcement needed to continue to reduce air pollution, threatening human health. “State of the Air 2011 tells us that the Clean Air Act is working, based on trends nationwide, but people living in West Virginia are still breathing levels of ozone and particle pollution that are dangerous,” said Deb Brown, President and CEO of the American Association in the Mid-Atlantic. “Clearly, this is not the time to slow or stop the enormous progress made to reduce air pollution. The American Lung Association in West Virginia will continue to fight to keep the Clean Air Act strong to protect everyone’s health.” “We are all affected by air pollution –even the most active, healthy adults are hurt, but particularly children, older adults and people with lung disease, diabetes, heart disease and those living in poverty. We are all at risk.” Of a total population of 1.8 million people, 48 percent or 866,000 residents in West Virginia live in counties or metropolitan areas earning at least one grade of “F” for air pollution in this report. Groups at increased risk from air pollution in West Virginia include: Infants, Children and Youth under 18: 188,876 Persons 65 and above: 135,056 Children with Asthma: 16,017 Adults with Asthma: 59,702 Persons with Chronic Bronchitis: 30,567 Persons with Emphysema: 16,181 Persons with Heart Disease: Persons with Diabetes: 264,394 83,557 Persons Living in Poverty: 129,726 The State of the Air 2011 report grades cities and counties based, in part, on the color-coded Air Quality Index developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help alert the public to daily unhealthy air conditions. The 12th annual release of the Lung Association’s report uses the most recent EPA data collected from 2007 through 2009 from official monitors for ozone and particle pollution, the two most widespread types of air pollution. Counties are graded for ozone, year-round particle pollution and short-term particle pollution levels. The report also uses EPA’s calculations for year-round particle levels. According to the report, all metropolitan areas in the list of the 25 cities most polluted by ozone showed improvement over the previous report, and 15 of those cities experienced the lowest levels yet. All but two of the 25 cities most polluted with year-round particle pollution improved over last year’s report. Only eleven cities among those most polluted by short-term spikes in particle pollution, however, experienced improvement. Particle levels can spike dangerously for hours to weeks on end (short-term) or remain at unhealthy levels on average every day (year-round). “Particle pollution kills," said Kevin Stewart, Environmental Scientist. “When you breathe these microscopic particles, you are inhaling a noxious mix of chemicals, metals, acid aerosols, ash, soot and others from diesel exhaust and other sources. It is as toxic as it sounds and can lead to early death, asthma exacerbations, heart attacks, strokes and emergency room visits in substantial numbers. Science clearly has proven that we need to protect the health of the public from the dangers of particle pollution.” How Big is a Particle? EPA drawing showing the size of microscopic, dangerous particles in relation to the diameter of a human hair (center) and fine beach sand (brown image on the left). 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. It can cause immediate health problems and continue days later. Ozone can cause wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks and even premature death. Despite continued levels of toxic air pollution nationwide and evidence that clean-ups have drastically cut air pollution levels, some members of Congress are proposing to weaken or block enforcement of the Clean Air Act, including steps to strip legal authority and funding from the EPA. Such moves would undermine the cleanup that remains, including the long-overdue cleanup of coal-fired power plants EPA recently proposed. As the Lung Association pointed out in its March report on toxic air pollution from coal-fired power plants, the pollution from more than 440 coal-fired power plants in 46 states are among the biggest contributors to ozone and particle pollution in the U.S. In addition, these plants produce 84 known hazardous air pollutants like arsenic, mercury, dioxins, formaldehyde and hydrogen chloride, which blow across state lines polluting the air thousands of miles away from the plants. Since this pollution spreads across state lines, the EPA’s ability to enforce standards is the only protection many communities have. The American Lung Association released a bipartisan poll in February that showed Americans overwhelmingly support efforts for even tougher air quality standards and oppose Congressional action that interferes with the EPA’s ability to update clean air standards. “Some in Congress are working to weaken the Clean Air Act and care more about protecting the interests of industry polluters than the health of Americans, including West Virginians,” said Deb Brown. The Clean Air Act saved more than 160,000 lives in 2010, according to EPA’s recent analysis. The American Lung Association in West Virginia is committed to keeping the law in place to protect all of those at risk in air pollution, from the most vulnerable populations to the healthiest populations. West Virginians are urged to voice support for the EPA to continue to protect the air in its community and can do so in a number of ways: Tell the EPA that you want the coal-fired power plants cleaned up. Go to www.lungaction.org to send an email to the EPA. Join the American Lung Association’s advocacy team. Visit our web site at www.stateoftheair.org to see your local air quality grades and to send a message to Congress about protecting the Clean Air Act. Take steps to clean up the air in your community and to protect your family: Drive less; walk; bike; carpool; or take the transit. Don’t burn wood or trash. Make sure your local school system uses clean school buses. Use less electricity. Don’t exercise on high pollution days and never exercise near busy freeways. Follow us on Facebook and on Twitter at @LungAssociation for much more information about lung health news. Make a financial contribution to the ALA to support our fight for clean and healthy air. About the American Lung Association Now in its second century, the American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease. With your generous support, the American Lung Association is “Fighting for Air” through research, education and advocacy. For more information about the American Lung Association, a Charity Navigator Four Star Charity and holder of the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Guide Seal, or to support the work it does, call 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800586-4872) or visit www.lungusa.org. ###