Mecklenburg County’s air quality could harm residents’ health, pollution report says

Mecklenburg County’s air may pose health risks for the people who breathe it, says the American Lung Association’s 2021 Air Quality Report.

The annual report, released April 20, grades counties nationwide on both ozone and particle pollution — two of the most common air pollutants in the United States. Mecklenburg County received an F grade for ozone pollution but an A for particle pollution.

Christine Hart, a Healthy Air Campaign manager for the ALA, told The Observer on Thursday that both pollutants can have a host of health consequences — including heart and asthma attacks, coughing, wheezing and even premature death.

“There’s more and more research that continues to come out every year on how severe it is for people’s health,” she said.

Sources of pollution

The millions of people traveling on Charlotte’s expanding highway network are the main source of air pollution in the county, Hart said.

To reduce “dirty transportation,” she said, the community could take steps such as getting rid of older diesel vehicles and buying newer or electric alternatives to reduce emissions from roads.

“A number of residents live near highways, so it’s important that we’re doing what we can to lower those emissions through clean transportation,” she said.

Hart said renewable energy is another way to reduce air emissions. North Carolina is a leader in solar energy, ranking third nationally behind California and Arizona, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association.

There are 15,037 renewable energy systems in the state, most of them solar, including 2,167 systems in Mecklenburg County, according to the North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association.

“Finding ways we think North Carolina can continue boosting the portfolio of renewable energy sources, and thus lowering our emissions, is a great way to clean air,” Hart said.

Clear Air Carolina, a nonprofit group that works to improve air quality and has an office in Charlotte, says diesel exhaust emitted on construction sites is a major pollution contributor.

Before 1996, the group says, diesel construction equipment had no emission standards. In 2015, new federal standards were phased in, so that newer engines run more cleanly. But the group is concerned about the older pieces of construction equipment still being used throughout the state, and is reaching out to businesses and health care systems to advocate for clean construction projects, according to its website.

Climate change, bringing warmer weather and longer summer months, factors into increased pollution because higher temperatures allow air pollutants to circulate longer, Hart said. The World Meteorological Organization reports that 2011-2020 was Earth’s warmest decade on record. The year 2020 was one of the three warmest years ever on record, says the organization.

‘A lot of progress’

The ALA has released its Air Quality Report for the past 21 years, and Mecklenburg County has made “a lot of progress” in that time, Hart said.

From 1997-1999, the county had 92 “bad ozone” days in which pollutant levels could harm health. In comparison, from 2017-2019, the county had only six bad ozone days. The ALA considers three bad ozone days in a three-year period passable on its grading system.

The county’s number of high particle days have also significantly decreased since the initial report came out in 2000. From 2003-2005, the report recorded six high particle pollution days. From 2017-2019, the county had zero high particle days. Having fewer than three high-particle days in a three-year span is considered passable, according to the report.

Although the county received an F grade for ozone pollution, Hart said the ALA doesn’t want the grade to overshadow the significant work that’s been done to clean up the air in Charlotte and across North Carolina.

“We have to still double down on our efforts to continue cleaning up our air sources,” she said.

Meeting federal requirements

Mecklenburg County meets all federal health-based standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, Megan Green, a program manager for Mecklenburg County Air Quality, told the Observer on Friday.

“I know the ALA graded (the county) an F, but I don’t necessarily think it reflects the significant improvements that we’ve seen in local ozone concentrations,” she said.

Green said the ALA’s letter grades don’t mirror or match the EPA’s standards.

“Essentially they’re calculating their letter grades differently, and so that’s why you see a situation like we have here,” she said.

Although the county may be meeting the EPA’s standards, Green said her agency agrees with the ALA that continued improvements need to be made to improve air quality for residents. The county’s Breathing Room and GRADE (Grant to Replace Aging Diesel Engines) programs in particular are geared to reduce pollution in the county, she said.

GRADE is a program that has awarded $6.6 million in funding incentives to businesses and organizations to replace heavy-duty non-road equipment with newer, cleaner, less-polluting engines, according to the county’s website. Green said Breathing Room is a regional plan county commissioners approved in 2019 that’s aimed at improving “air quality now and in the future.”