Study: Detroit's air among worst in U.S.

[kraig]

We know that the Southwest side and the Northeast side are the City of Detroit's worst areas. The question is should we:

1. Ask some of the Industrial Businesses to help with the Tree Planting and greening of some of the dirt fields in the City along with working with health agencies and non-profits to help health screenings in the City. Generally, establishing good corporate/community relations.

or

2. Let the politicians denounce the businesses in the area, invite us to some meetings, so that we can kick and scream and get those politicians some air time and get re-elected while accomplishing nothing. Then wait for the next study and repeat the same thing.











Study: Detroit's air among worst in U.S.

Jim Lynch / The Detroit News

Detroit -- For the second day in a row, the Detroit region has been cited in a scientific study for having some of the worst air in the United States.
An American Lung Association's 2009 State of the Air Report released today ranks the Detroit/Warren/Flint area in the top 10 worst cities for two categories of air pollution. The region ranks ninth for worst regions for pollution incidents over 24-hour periods as well as ninth for year-round particle pollution.
In the organization's 2008 report, the Detroit/Warren/Flint region had the ninth-highest level of short-term particle pollution. In year-round particle pollution statistics, the region ranked 10th.




Michigan as a whole did poorly in this year's study. No city in the state was ranked among the cleanest cities in short-term particle pollution, long-term particle pollution or ozone pollution.
Overall, this year's study found that 60 percent of Americans live in areas that are threatened by high levels of air pollution.
"This should be a wakeup call," said Stephen J. Nolan, chairman of the American Lung Association's national board, in a press release. "We know that air pollution is a major threat to human health. When 60 percent of Americans are left breathing air dirty enough to send people to the emergency room, to shape how kids' lungs develop, and to kill, air pollution remains a serious problem."
On Tuesday, researchers with the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and the University of Southern California released another study showing Detroit ranks 10th for its disproportionate impact of bad air on low-income residents.
jlynch@detnews.com [[313) 222-2034

[izzyindetroit]

Here is the complete list if anyone is interested.

Los Angeles/Long Beach/Riverside, Calif., is the most polluted by year-round particles in the air, followed by Pittsburgh; Bakersfield, Calif.; Birmingham, Ala.; Visalia/Porterville, Calif.; Atlanta; Cincinnati; Fresno/Madera, Calif.; Hanford/Corcoran, Calif.; and Detroit.

http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlan...8/daily82.html

I was suprised to see California on the list 5 times.

[kraig]

Thanks Izzy. We should plant some trees around all of the factories and around all of the parks in the city.

[Russix]

Thanks Izzy. We should plant some trees around all of the factories and around all of the parks in the city.

But Detroit is the greenest city[[in terms of Trees). I'm sure more trees will help, but if we already have the most trees than maybe something else is neccessary? Can we work alittle better to contain pollution by not unneccessarily burning trash and improve pollution controls? Can we create a program to help factories offset the cost of pollution control equipment upgrades if they promise to keep us employed?

[Gistok]

Can someone please explain to me what makes the northeast side of Detroit polluted? I don't see any heavy smoke billowing plants along he Conner or Mound industrial corridor.

As a long time resident of he far east side [[and more recenty SCS)... I have to say that the air is among the best I've noticed. It is certainly cleaner than in Manhattan or downtown Chicago!

Every time I travel to the west side, I notice that the air smells different once I get past Livernois, and in the warm months one cannot help but notice that the air gets fouler once you get near I-75 [[the Detroit Incinerator).

Or is it that the far east side and eastern burbs closer to the lake get the [[cleaner)breezes off of Lake St. Clair, and are more fortunate than those areas farther inland?

[DetroitPlanner]

According to the EPA air is pretty clean around here.

Looks like Jimmy should be researching his articles more closely. A search of the Detroit News says that Jimmy wrote an article saying we have the best air on April 22, 2009.

[kraig]

Can someone please explain to me what makes the northeast side of Detroit polluted? I don't see any heavy smoke billowing plants along he Conner or Mound industrial corridor.

As a long time resident of he far east side [[and more recenty SCS)... I have to say that the air is among the best I've noticed. It is certainly cleaner than in Manhattan or downtown Chicago!

Every time I travel to the west side, I notice that the air smells different once I get past Livernois, and in the warm months one cannot help but notice that the air gets fouler once you get near I-75 [[the Detroit Incinerator).

Or is it that the far east side and eastern burbs closer to the lake get the [[cleaner)breezes off of Lake St. Clair, and are more fortunate than those areas farther inland?

Abandoned and burnt buildings contribute a lot to northeast side pollution. Between asbestos, radon, lead etc. in burned out buildings, tire dumping, amongst other dumping, black mold and toxic soil and a large number of dirt fields and parking lots, you have more harm than you have with the incinerator.

Don't get me wrong, you have those same things all over the city, but things are at its worst on the Southwest and Northeast sides because those areas are even more neglected than the rest of the city.

The city sees a benefit in bare lots because there's no grass to cut. But in the summertime, when the dirt is dry, the dust kicks up in the air at face level, especially for children, and that contributes a lot to bad air and asthma.

Diesel trucks have nothing on burning debris when it comes to particulate matter.

[Mackinaw]

It's simple: too many cars and too much driving per capita. I also wouldn't understate the diesel fumes from trucking. Carcinogens kill; some major environmental pushes at the big ports in LA and Newark have forced/attempted to force the old, dirty trucks off the road. Detroit doesn't have much port traffic comparatively, but it still has widespread truck use. I-94 and the crossing with Canada are some of the most heavily trafficked truck routes.

But's it's even more simple, Gistok, when you talk about NE Detroit: it's downwind of a massive trash burner. And SW-Rouge is quite the complex of dirty factories; it doesn't rival Gary or Newark-Elizabeth, but it ain't good.

From my experiences, Detroit air can either be outstanding or quite bad. When the air is stagnant, or warm with a SW breeze, it's bad news. When the wind is from the north or east, i.e. any brisk day after a front, then we're getting a fresh stream of air delivered from the northwoods, and it's most enjoyable.

I'm not going to quibble with the science here, but it would be good to know where the monitoring took place. If it took place at the 75-94 interchange, then it might be a little overstated.

Nonetheless, people should be aware of the two simple things they can do to make things healthier in the area: make the incinerator go away, and take transit.