Air Quality and Your Health

Air pollution affects everyone. The average adult breathes over 3,000 gallons of air every day. Children breathe even more per pound of body weight and are more susceptible to air pollution. Groups especially sensitive to pollution include children, the elderly, people with heart and lung disease and, in the summer, people that work or exercise outside.

Short term exposure to elevated levels of ground-level ozone irritates lung passages and causes inflammation. Ozone is a strong oxidizer and affects the lung tissue much like a sunburn affects the skin. Symptoms of exposure to elevated levels of ozone include coughing, wheezing, chest pains and headaches. Ozone can aggravate chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma and bronchitis and can lead to increased emergency room visits and hospital admissions. Long-term, prolonged exposure to even low levels of ozone may cause asthma in children and lead to permanent lung damage.

Particle pollution is another significant air pollutant in the Delaware Valley. Small particles of dust, metals, toxins and liquids can be breathed deep into the lungs where they cause wheezing, coughing, difficulty breathing or can aggravate asthma or bronchitis. Particle pollution also poses a health risk for those with heart conditions. The smallest particles may actually enter the blood stream, changing blood chemistry, making the heart work harder to get oxygen to the body. Long term exposure to particle pollution has been linked to decreased lung function and even shortened life expectancy.

Ozone and particle pollution affect your lungs in different ways. Try Lung Attack to see how Air Pollution affects your lungs.* You can download a printable poster of the health effects of air pollution by clicking here.

Taking positive steps to improve air quality will help to reduce the health and economic impacts of air pollution. Think of clean air as preventative medicine on a regional scale.

Who is at risk?

Children- Children are at risk for several reasons. They spend more time outdoors, their lungs are still developing and they breathe more air per pound of bodyweight than adults. These factors mean that children not only have greater exposure to pollutants like ozone and particle pollution but those pollutants can exert greater impacts on developing lungs.
Elderly- Older people are more likely to suffer from heart and lung conditions. When air quality is poor, the elderly should take special precautions.
People with heart or lung diseases - Over 900,000 people in the Delaware Valley suffer from asthma, bronchitis or other respiratory illness. Over 71 million Americans have some form of heart disease. This means that hundreds of thousands of people in our region are especially impacted by poor air quality.
Adults who exercise, work or spend time outdoors - One of the largest sensitive groups is also one of the least likely to be aware that they are at risk. Cyclists, joggers, outdoor workers or other adults who exert themselves outdoors are at risk of respiratory impairment when ground level ozone or particle pollution concentrations are high.

Safeguard your health
Air quality changes everyday but being informed can keep you and your family healthy. The Environmental Protection Agency has created the Air Quality Index (AQI), which is a color coded scale to show you how clean or polluted your air is every day.

Understanding the AQI
The AQI breaks air quality down into four categories: Good (green), Moderate (yellow), Unhealthy for Sensitive Populations (orange) and Unhealthy for Everyone (red). Each color relates to quantitative levels of air pollution and indicates the health risks associated with air quality conditions.

AQI

The Air Quality Partnership provides ozone forecasts during the warmer months (May through September) when weather conditions are conducive to ozone formation. The Partnership provides particle pollution forecasts all year round.

When ozone concentrations are forecast to be in the orange range, sensitive populations should limit strenuous outdoor activities. When ozone levels are predicted to be in the red range everyone should limit outdoor activity. Particle pollution can also affect indoor air quality. When particle pollution levels are forecast to be high, sensitive populations (Code Orange) and/or the general population (Code Red) should limit all strenuous indoor and outdoor activities.

The Air Quality Partnership will notify the media, the public and Partners when air quality is forecast to be in the Code Orange or Code Red range. The partnership will send advisories through email and fax notifications as well as posting daily air quality forecasts on the Partnership website and recorded announcements on the Air Quality Partnership Information Line.

The advisories and forecasts will identify which pollutant is forecast to be high and provide steps that people can take to reduce polluting activities. It is important to look for Air Quality advisories in the local media or check the air quality forecast daily, if you belong to an at risk population.