Air in Charlotte continues to be among the most polluted in Southeast, new report says
Mecklenburg County’s air quality woes continue as Charlotte remains the second-most polluted city in the Southeast for ozone pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s 2022 Air Quality Report.
The annual report, released Thursday, uses a three-year range of air pollution data to grade counties nationwide on both ozone and particle pollution — two of the most common air pollutants in the U.S. Grades are given based on “unhealthy days,” when pollutant levels are so bad, they’re harmful to the public’s health.
For the second year in a row, Mecklenburg County received an F for ozone pollution. The county earned a B for particle pollution after receiving an A in 2021.
One variable that has contributed to Mecklenburg’s bad grades: Charlotte.
“In Mecklenburg County, while we saw improvements in ozone pollution, Charlotte is still failing,” Ashley Lyerly, senior director of advocacy for American Lung Association in North Carolina, told The Charlotte Observer. “That’s certainly concerning.”
From 2018 to 2020, Mecklenburg had 15 high ozone days and two high particle pollution days. Charlotte had a weighted average of six high ozone days from 2017 to 2019, and in order to pass, the city would need 3.2 days or below.
Birmingham, Alabama, ranks as the most polluted city in the Southeast for ozone pollution, according to Lyerly. Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is third, followed by Atlanta. Memphis, Tennessee, and Tampa, Florida, tied for fifth, she said.
Ozone pollution can affect people who are susceptible to asthma attacks, cardiovascular issues and other respiratory health problems, according to Lyerly.
Traffic along Interstate 485 and other means of public transportation produce harmful emissions, negatively affecting Charlotte’s air quality, Lyerly said. Factories, refineries, chemical plants and gas stations also contribute to the decline in air quality, she said.
Increasing the use of electric and zero-emission vehicles would dramatically affect air quality, according to Lyerly. The American Lung Association’s Zeroing in on Healthy Air report found that a national shift to 100% sales of zero-emission vehicles by 2035, and medium- and heavy-duty trucks by 2040, coupled with renewable electricity, would generate over $1.2 trillion in public health benefits between 2020 and 2050.
The changes would help stop up to 110,000 premature deaths, along with nearly 3 million asthma attacks and over 13 million workdays lost, the report says.
“The reduction of air pollution is multifaceted, not only from a state or federal standpoint, but also down to the individual choices we make in our homes and with our vehicles,” Lyerly said.
Ahead of the warmer months, people should be more aware of their air because sunlight and rising temperatures will create ozone or smog, Lyerly said.
“We want people to pay attention to their daily air quality, and if we have an unhealthy day, to take precautions,” she said.
Cleaner air in Wake County?
Unlike Mecklenburg, Wake County received an A for ozone pollution, and a B for particle pollution. The difference for North Carolina’s two biggest counties could come down to weather patterns and topography, Lyerly said.
Emissions and pollutants sort of sit over Mecklenburg likely because of a lack of wind coming through the county, Lyerly said. She compared Charlotte to Birmingham, a low-lying city where haze and fog visibly cover the area some days dating back to the 1960s.
Raleigh is ranked as one of the cleanest cities for ozone, the air quality report says.
“You got one community that’s the second worst for ozone in the Southeast and in the state, and then you got one that’s on the most cleanest list,” Lyerly said. “It’s hard to sort of wrap that around in your brain.”
The difference in air quality could be caused by individual behavior patterns, industry and other factors that have improved for both counties over the years, according to Lyerly.
“While air quality is still unhealthy, it’s certainly not as worse it was many years ago,” she said.
County: Mecklenburg meets air standards
Mecklenburg’s air quality continues to meet all health-based standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency, including those for ozone and particle pollution, according to Megan Green, the county’s air quality program manager.
The EPA said acceptable ozone levels are 0.070 parts per million — or 70 parts per billion — averaged over eight hours. In 2021, Mecklenburg’s ozone compliance value was better than the health-based standard measuring at 66 parts per billion, Green said. The number of “good” air quality days has increased from 111 in 2006 to 253 in 2021, she said.
Mecklenburg County Air Quality is working to continue to improve the county’s air through programs such as Grants to Replace Aging Diesel Engines (GRADE) and Breathing Room, according to Green.
GRADE 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.
Breathing Room, a regional plan county commissioners approved in 2019, sought public input to shape “a path forward” toward improving air quality.
Stay safe in bad ozone
The N.C. State University Climate Office and the state Division of Air Quality offer daily air quality index forecasts at airquality.climate.ncsu.edu.
On bad ozone days, the American Lung Association advises people to:
▪ Not exercise outside or take children to playgrounds;
▪ carpool;
▪ walk or bike to their destinations;
▪ refrain from mowing lawns;
▪ not fill up their gas tanks.
This story was originally published April 21, 2022 at 9:30 AM.
