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April 2, 2009 - By Jacqueline Giordano
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Two types of air pollution are especially dangerous to breathe - ozone (smog) and particle pollution (soot). The "American Lung Association State of the Air 2007 Report" graded communities across the nation based on the number of days they had unhealthful levels of air pollution. The grades were based upon the color-coded alert system called the Air Quality Index, which is commonly found in newspapers, radio reports, television reports and online weather forecasts.
Ozone or smog is an irritating, invisible gas that is formed most often by a reaction of sunlight and vapors emitted when fuel is burned by cars and trucks, factories, power plants and other sources. High levels of smog can cause health problems with both short-term and long-term exposure. Such smog is particularly dangerous for people with asthma and other chronic lung diseases, senior citizens, children and teens.
Unfortunately Riverside has one of the highest levels of ozone in the country, according to ScienceNOW. Senior Zerghona Wadood said, "I can tell there's a lot of smog in the air because sometimes when I'm driving down hills I can almost see this black cloud of dirty air over Riverside. However I almost think I've become immune to it because when I was younger I had really bad asthma but I haven't had an attack in a really long time."
Particle pollution or soot is the deadliest of widespread outdoor air pollutants and comes from a wide variety of sources. The particles are usually a complex mixture that can include ash, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols. The body's natural defenses help to sneeze or cough larger particles out of our bodies yet those defenses do not keep out smaller particles, which become lodged in the lungs where they stay and can cause major damage and even death.
Approximately 1,946,499 people in Riverside suffer from pediatric and adult asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, many of these cases caused or influenced by the air quality. Sophomore Jorge Vasquez said, "I was diagnosed with asthma just last week because I was having a lot of trouble breathing. Right now I can barely take any deep breaths when I'm outside and I can't do any type of physical activity. To help keep my asthma under control I take a lot of inhalers and I have a purifier in my room but I don't think I'd have to do all of this if the air quality wasn't so bad."
The quality of air in Riverside is not improving; in fact it has worsened over the last few years. Riverside must take action to become a cleaner and healthier place for everyone to live in. Said sophomore McKenzie Denholtz, "I think we should all help our environment by doing things like recycling and using public transportation. Even though it has a bad reputation, [Riverside] does use clean energy."
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