Clean Air Partners Launch 2005 Air Quality Action Season for Baltimore - Washington Metropolitan Region; Particle pollution continues to be measured year-round.

WASHINGTON -- Clean Air Partners, a regional private-public partnership formed to improve air quality in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan region, today announced the start of the 2005 Air Quality Action Days (AQAD) season. This program alerts the public to poor air quality days, from May through the end of September, when ground-level ozone and particle pollution can reach potentially harmful levels and trigger a variety of health-related conditions.

Although the ground-level ozone season ends September 30, particle pollution is measured year-round using the same color-coded designations for ground-level ozone on EPA's Air Quality Index (AQI): green (good), yellow, orange, red, and purple (very unhealthy). During the summer it is important to be aware of air quality, especially during Code Red and Orange Days when ground-level ozone is elevated. Those most at risk are children, older adults, and people with lung or heart disease.

"There are several easy and effective actions that we can take to improve the air quality in our community," said Randy Mosier, Clean Air Partners. "Our personal choices concerning the daily commute, house cleaning, or even mowing the lawn, can have major implications when it comes to air quality."

According to EPA, more than 125 million Americans are exposed to unhealthy levels of air pollution. In the Baltimore and Washington DC metropolitan region, motor vehicles account for nearly 40 percent of the area's air pollution, which can increase the potential of Code Red days. More than 3.8 million people commute each day in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan region, with more than 71 percent of them driving alone to work. Baltimore has the second-highest rate of respiratory related emergency room visits among children in the nation.

"Although everyone should be on the alert for "bad air days" during the summer, particle pollution is a year-round issue currently affecting a quarter of Americans around the country," continued Mosier. "By informing individuals about the prevalence of air quality issues on a day-to-day basis, residents can help make a lasting commitment to cleaner air."

Clean Air Partners will host its annual Air Quality Action Days Kickoff Conference at the Hilton Alexandria Old Town on Thursday, May 12, from 8:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The conference educates local businesses local meteorologists, as well as members of the community about the latest in forecasting technology, the health-related affects of poor air quality, and regional activities to mitigate poor air quality in the Baltimore and Washington metropolitan region.

For more information about Clean Air Partners and AQAD, visit www.cleanairpartners.net.

About Clean Air Partners

Clean Air Partners is a public-private partnership chartered by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG) and the Baltimore Metropolitan Council (BMC) to build awareness of how individuals contribute to air pollution and promote easy and effective voluntary actions that individuals and employers can take to reduce the production of and exposure to air pollution.