Atlanta matches last year's bad air days and smog season isn't over

By Ty Tagami

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The ozone that spread across Atlanta again Wednesday pushed the metro area over the threshold for another violation of federal clean air standards.

Atlanta has now had 14 official bad air days this year -- the same number seen in all of 2009. And the smog season continues through September, meaning more could be on the way.

"We've got another couple months of hot weather ahead of us, it's a safe bet," said Kevin Green, the executive director of the Clean Air Campaign. "So we're not out of the woods yet."

Ozone is cooked  from tailpipe emissions and volatile organic compounds emitted from vegetation and other sources. The key ingredient, heat and light, has been abundant this summer.

That has left those with asthma, bronchitis and sensitive lungs suffering from shortness of breath, coughing fits and wheezing, said Dr. Stanley Fineman of the Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic.

"The patients who have lung problems clearly have had more difficulty this summer," he said.

The discomfort is compounded by the early onset of ragweed season, he said. Normally, the pollen count is below five this time of year, but it was at 14 Wednesday and seven Thursday, according to the clinic.

The best thing people can do if they are susceptible to either irritant, Fineman said, is to stay indoors and breathe air that's been run through an air conditioner.

Atlanta will likely exceed last year's number of bad air days because the forecast for Thursday was for another "Code Orange" violation. (The results of the official measurements will be released Friday.) The orange color code means the air was expected to be unhealthy for those with lung illnesses and for children, who are lower to the ground where ozone gathers and who have developing lungs.

Despite the troubling results so far this summer, Atlanta's air is actually much cleaner than it was a decade ago. Not only were there more violations in many years prior to 2009, but the standards have been raised since then, said Susan Zimmer-Dauphinee, an official involved in measuring air quality for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

"The big story is that the air quality is actually much better that it was 10 years ago," she said. "Even though we have been seeing some code oranges, those concentrations aren't as high as they were in years past."

Credit things like low sulfur gasoline and those rubber gaskets at the fuel pump that prevent volatile organic compounds from leaking into the air, she said.

The federal government is expected to tighten the standard again at the end of August, meaning lower levels of pollution would result in violations in the future. If Atlanta can't keep on top of the problem, Zimmer-Dauphinee said, the feds may impose new mandates such as those already in place in California where there are restrictions on the use of things such as lighter fluid for barbecue grills.

What can people do? Basically, figure out how to drive less, said Green, of the Clean Air Campaign. That means carpool, ride a bike or bus and plan trips more carefully to get more done on each one.

"I think we should be concerned when we have violations of any of the standards," he said, "because breathing is not optional."