SMOG SEASON KICKS OFF WITH A SIZZLE OFFICIALS: POLLUTANTS MORE DANGEROUS TO LUNGS, HEARTS THAN ONCE BELIEVED.Byline: Holly Edwards Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA - Smog season returned to the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. this week as stagnant air and sizzling temperatures drove pollution levels into the unhealthful range for the first time this summer. And, experts warn, this constant onslaught of airborne toxins is taking a heavy toll on our health - whether we're aware of it or not. ``Physically, we get used to being poisoned and don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. it's happening,'' said Dr. Kaye Kilburn of the University of Southern California's Keck School of Medicine. ``But when we compare the lungs of people who live in cities with those who live in clean-air areas, there is a marked difference.'' For example, children who live in the Los Angeles area - from the coast to the desert communities - show signs of early lung disease lung disease Pulmonary disease Pulmonology Any condition causing or indicating impaired lung function Types of LD Obstructive lung disease–↓ in air flow caused by a narrowing or blockage of airways–eg, asthma, emphysema, chronic bronchitis; and a rapid loss of lung tissue, Kilburn said. In fact, he added, Los Angeles area residents can expect to lose 50 percent more lung tissue each year than those who live in clean-air areas. ``The problem is the body can process lung tissue more easily than it can process pollution particles,'' Kilburn said. ``So in the process of trying to process air pollution, the body digests lung tissue.'' While air pollution has been linked to cancer and birth defects birth defects, abnormalities in physical or mental structure or function that are present at birth. They range from minor to seriously deforming or life-threatening. A major defect of some type occurs in approximately 3% of all births. for years, new studies have linked high levels of air pollution with an increased risk of heart attacks, said David McKee, an air quality expert with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), independent agency of the U.S. government, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1970 to reduce and control air and water pollution, noise pollution, and radiation and to ensure the safe handling and . ``Air pollution causes the pulse rate pulse rate n. The rate of the pulse as observed in an artery, expressed as beats per minute. to increase, the blood to thicken thick·en tr. & intr.v. thick·ened, thick·en·ing, thick·ens 1. To make or become thick or thicker: Thicken the sauce with cornstarch. The crowd thickened near the doorway. 2. , the heart and lungs to become inflamed, and all of these things can compound to produce an increased risk of heart attack for some,'' McKee said. Air pollution also is believed to trigger asthma attacks in some people, though experts disagree on whether air pollution actually causes asthma or merely aggravates it, McKee said. The number of asthma sufferers has doubled in this country in the past 20 years, from about 7 million to 14 million, experts say. In the Santa Clarita Valley, the most prevalent toxin in the air is ozone - an unstable form of oxygen created when the nitrous oxide belched from auto exhausts interacts with sunlight. When lungs become inflamed by ozone, the lungs are more likely to be damaged by other pollutants, particularly the tiny particulates created by diesel engines, said Jerry Martin, chief of communications for the California Air Resources Board California Air Resources Board (CARB) is the "clean air agency" of the state of California in the United States. Established originally in 1967, it is a part of the California Environmental Protection Agency, an organization which reports directly to the California . ``Every county in the state except Lake County is in violation of state and federal air pollution standards,'' Martin said. |
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