May 1, 2006

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Smog season begins, a big concern to those with asthma

Stacy Hilton

Christy Davis dreads this time of year.

First come the high pollen counts, when allergies squeeze her lungs and make her head feel like a faucet.

Then there's smog season — 153 days of it — beginning today.

As ozone levels climb with the thermometer, even healthy people can have a tough time breathing. The odorless, colorless gas, a main ingredient in Atlanta's skyline haze, is especially tough on Davis, a lifelong asthmatic.

The Henry County mother of three says that when the air conspires against her, "it's very, very scary. It's like you're trying to breathe through a very small straw."

What's worse, two of her three young children have asthma. Her baby was diagnosed at 3 months.

Smog can be particularly harmful to people with any respiratory condition or cardiovascular disease, especially the very young and the very old. Georgia health officials say asthma, which is exacerbated by smog, affects 212,000 of the state's children and 480,000 adults. In 2003, asthma caused 11,000 hospitalizations in Georgia, at an estimated cost of $100 million.

Ground-level ozone is formed when heat from the sun cooks up a toxic potion of auto, power plant and industrial emissions. On most days, the levels are low and unnoticeable to most people. But on 17 days last year in metro Atlanta, smog conditions were bad enough that public health officials warned that the air was unhealthy for those most at risk.

Their advice: Stay inside more, and limit outdoor play time and outdoor workouts to the morning before ozone levels start to peak.

Some scientists say ozone exposure is like a sunburn on the lungs. Even healthy people can experience coughing and shortness of breath. Scientists are still learning about possible long-term effects, such as decreased lung function and premature death.

Carolyn Williams, asthma program manager at the state Department of Human Resources, said some asthmatics don't know what brings on their attacks.

"They don't realize their own triggers, and they end up in the emergency room," she said.

Last week the American Lung Association released its State of the Air: 2006 report, which pointed out that 47 percent of Americans live in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone. And that's an improvement: The federal standard has gotten stricter, reflecting increased awareness of ozone's harmful effects.

Here and nationally, ozone levels have dropped in recent years. Pollution controls continue to ramp up, bringing cleaner gasoline, cleaner engines and fewer emissions from power plants and factories, even as the number of tailpipes and smokestacks increase.

Metro Atlanta's air has gotten cleaner than most: Charlotte, Washington and Dallas have worse air than ours. But Atlanta's improvements may be transient. Scientists credit cooler summers in recent years for helping lower ozone levels. And that could change.

Georgia Tech atmospheric scientist Michael Chang, who studies ozone formations, has said the true test for this region's expensive pollution controls will come during the next hot summer, when 90-degree days are the norm.

Throughout smog season, which ends Sept. 30, about a dozen air quality experts in Georgia will forecast the next day's ozone level. Highway message boards will broadcast orange and red alert days, along with advice for commuters to carpool, take public transit and wait until after dusk to buy gasoline.

E-mail alerts are also available through the Clean Air Campaign, at www.cleanaircampaign.com.