According to the report of the American Lung Association, Santa Cruz is the state of the year 2010, because the air in Santa Cruz is the cleanest in the nation.

The State of the Air is a report card on air pollution in communities across the country. According to a report released by the American Lung Association on Wednesday 28th April, 2010, the State of the Air 2010 is Santa Cruz. The air in Santa Cruz County is among the cleanest in the nation. Breathing of Polluted air can seriously harm your health and also it shortens your life. People who are suffered from diseases such as asthma, bronchitis and cardiovascular disease, health of these people can be put at risk due to air pollution. The Santa Cruz’s air is unpolluted and cleanest in the country; this is good news for thousand of people, who suffered from such health risk.

The report of the state of the air 2010 reviewed data from U.S Environmental Protection Agency data on annual particle pollution and also from more than 600 regions for 2006, 2007 and 2008 on days with high ozone, also known as smog, and particle pollution. But Santa Cruz County did not have any high ozone days, scoring an A along with 48 other counties. In addition, high levels of particle pollution days were not observed in Santa Cruz County, earning an A along with 113 other counties and for this record it tied for 25th for its low level of year-round particle pollution.

The Monterey Bay Area Unified Air Pollution Control District monitors local air quality. The local score is an enhancement over a year ago when the region paced an A in particle pollution but didn’t get an ozone grade owing to incomplete data.

With the cleanest air, the counties are tended to be coastal, like Mendocino County, or rural, like Billings and Mercer in North Dakota. In comparison to Santa Cruz County, Santa Clara County rated an F in ozone and 24-hour particle pollution. At Santa Clara County many local residents go back and forth to work. Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency said, “We have good communication”.

The progress is reported by the Lung Association in Pittsburgh and Cleveland thanks to cleaner diesel fuels and fewer emissions from coal-fired power plants. But, Fresno and Modesto in California’s Central Valley had more 24-hour particle pollution than before.
According to the American lung association report, Los Angeles rated worst for ozone, Phoenix was most polluted by year-round particle pollution and Bakersfield had the most days of 24-hour particle pollution.

The most extensive air pollutant is ozone which was formed when nitrogen oxide gases and volatile organic compounds like vapors from gasoline combine in the hot sun. Dr. Norman Edelman, chief medical officer of the American Lung Association said, “When you inhale ozone, it irritates your lungs, leaving them with something like bad sunburn. It causes health problems the day you breathe it in, and even days after. Ozone can cause wheezing, coughing, asthma attacks and even shorten your life.”

When tiny crumb of soot, dust and aerosols are suspended in the air, it results in to particle pollution. Edelman said, “People with heart or lung diseases, children and older adults are the most likely to be affected by particle pollution exposure. Numerous scientific studies have linked particle pollution exposure to a variety of problems, such as irritation of the airways, coughing, or difficulty breathing. It also causes irregular heartbeat, heart attacks and even premature death in people with heart or lung disease.”

For checking the report of any state of U.S., visit www.stateoftheair.org.