POOR AIR DAYS UP IN 2003 OZONE STANDARDS NOT MET.Byline: Rachel Uranga Staff Writer SIMI VALLEY - Air pollution exceeded healthy levels 26 days here in 2003 - nearly twice the number of dirty air days as the year before, according to air-quality experts. Ozone levels in the city exceeded the state standards for healthy air more than two dozen times, compared with 14 days in 2002. High levels of ozone, a major component of smog, can interfere with lung function and can cause pain and discomfort. ``Ozone is the only pollutant where we have not been able to meet the federal standards,'' said Mallory Ham, an air-quality meteorologist for the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District. ``The biggest influence on ozone is the weather.'' Simi Valley was under a high-pressure system for most of the summer. It trapped a pollutant-laden layer from the Oxnard Plain and the gridlocked grid·lock n. 1. A traffic jam in which no vehicular movement is possible, especially one caused by the blockage of key intersections within a grid of streets. 2. Los Angeles freeways and held it over Simi Valley, Ham said. The natural topography of Simi SIMI Sea Ice Mechanics Initiative SIMI Search for Intelligent Monkeys on the Internet SIMI Students Islamic Movement in India SIMI Society of Irish Motor Industry SIMI Smallholder Irrigation Markets Initiative , which is surrounded by mountains, acts as a sort of pressure cooker with the stagnant air hovering overhead and keeping a lid on the pollutants, Ham explained. A 2003 report by the American Lung Association The American Lung Association (ALA) is a non-profit organization that "fights lung disease in all its forms, with special emphasis on asthma, tobacco control and environmental health". ranked Ventura as the country's 15th most ozone-polluted county. At especially high risk for ozone-related ailments are the young, elderly and those with respiratory diseases such as asthma, chronic bronchitis chronic bronchitis n. Inflammation of the bronchial mucous membrane, characterized by cough, hypersecretion of mucus, and expectoration of sputum over a long period of time and associated with increased vulnerability to bronchial infection. and emphysema emphysema (ĕmfĭsē`mə), pathological or physiological enlargement or overdistention of the air sacs of the lungs. A major cause of pulmonary insufficiency in chronic cigarette smokers, emphysema is a progressive disease that commonly , the report notes. ``Ozone is an irritant chemical,'' said Lewis Kanter, a Simi Valley asthma specialist. ``It acts like an acid to irritate the surface of the lungs.'' Eyes can become itchy itch·y adj. Having or causing an itching sensation. , breathing can become more difficult and there is sometimes chest pain, coughing and wheezing Wheezing Definition Wheezing is a high-pitched whistling sound associated with labored breathing. Description Wheezing occurs when a child or adult tries to breathe deeply through air passages that are narrowed or filled with mucus as a , he said, especially among those in high-risk groups. Ozone exposure can also reduce resistance to infections. Higher ozone counts are mostly caused by increased emissions of pollutants by vehicles and factories, Ham said. According to the Ventura County Pollution District, cars, trucks, boats and planes create 71 percent of smog-forming pollutants. Of that, 80.5 tons of the pollution comes from cars, SUVs and other land-roving vehicles. Rachel Uranga, (805) 583-7602 rachel.uranga(at)dailynews.com |
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