Local Air Quality Grade Still an 'F'

On the plus side, Orange County has beaches and sunshine. On the minus side, the air is terrible. Still.

Despite a drop in the number of high-smog days, overall air quality in the region scored an F on the American Lung Association's latest report card. The group's State of the Air 2011 grade was based on data collected from 2007-09. 

Although the report found California was making significant progress in cleaning up the air, the South Coast Air Basin continued to receive a failing grade for ozone and particle pollution. (The South Coast Air Basin includes portions of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties.)

The key sources of air pollution in California include motor vehicles and wood, agricultural and forest burning, the report said.

The California Air Resources Board offered a kinder assessment of state air, saying, “California has led the nation in pioneering cutting-edge pollution control technologies, developing precedent-setting standards and ratcheting down pollution and related health emergencies.”

Over the past decade, the South Coast region has dramatically reduced the number of high-ozone and particle-matter days, thanks to California’s fuel and vehicle regulations, state officials said.

“Generally speaking, Orange County has some of the best air quality in the region,” said Sam Atwood of the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Laguna Niguel violated federal air health standards three days in 2010 and 10 days in 2009. So far this year, the city has  exceeded the federal standard just once. This is significantly better than other cities in the region. Last year, Santa Clarita exceeded the federal health standard 26 days. Laguna Niguel typically sees its heaviest smog days when Santa Ana winds drive pollution toward the coast, Atwood said.

For daily updates of Laguna Niguel’s air quality, visit the South Coast Air Quality Management District website at http://aqmd.gov/.