Maricopa air quality, is it healthy?

inmaricopa.com runs, on a regular basis, opinion pieces submitted by community members. The following article is the opinion of the author, and does not necessarily reflect the views of inmaricopa.com.

From going deeper into researching this major concern that I have that air quality is poor and my family has been affected, I have found some great sites that I would like to share.

One major article is the Pinal County Air Quality Summit 2008 EPA Region 9 Perspective, dated November 7, 2008. This report talks about particulate matter, what it is and how it affects human health.

Large particles of PM10 deposit in the upper respiratory tract and smaller particles of PM10 penetrate deep into the lungs. You will also read that many scientific studies have linked breathing particle pollution to a series of significant health problems such as:
· Aggravated Asthma
· Increases in respiratory symptoms like coughing and difficult or painful breathing
· Chronic Bronchitis
· Decreased Lung Function
· Premature death in people with heart or lung disease

Page 6 details the EPA Region 9’s perspective on Pinal County’s PM-10 status:
· Pinal County has violated the PM10 standard since 2002
· In 2002 two violating monitors
· In 2008 seven violating monitors
· Cowtown monitor is the worst

On page 9 there is a chart that shows PM10 violations in Pinal County, Arizona, and the expected number of days per year exceeding the 24-hour standard. Of the worst PM10 air quality sites in the USA from 2005-2007, Pinal County (Cowtown) is top of the list with 222.2 expected exceeding days.

Here is the conclusion from the report:
· Region 9 is planning to redesignate Pinal County to non-attainment for PM10
· The area has been violating since 2002, so citizens are breathing unhealthy air

In this article one paragraph really jumped out at me where it says “Originally, Ingram said, he got involved in the feedlot issue when approached by the city’s economic development consultant, Ioanna Morfessis, who was having trouble attracting new business to Maricopa with the presence of the feedlots.”

You can look at the feedlot’s website www.pinalfeeding.com and read for yourself that they have capacity for over 150,000 head of cattle.

When cow manure decomposes, it emits methane and nitrous oxide, which both are potent greenhouse gases. So, with 150,000 head of cattle how much manure do they produce? This site shows the greenhouse gases and you can read about the manure there.

Another article is titled: “Dirty air could cripple Pinal growth” This article talks about a non-attainment designation for Pinal County. (Non-attainment area means: An area that does not meet one or more of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for the criteria pollutants designated in the Clean Air Act.)

The data is telling us the air is not healthy from information collected from sensors placed around the county, and that the pollution is bad for people’s health. Pinal County has five of the eight worst particulate matter measurements in the United States, with the rural Maricopa Cowtown sensors showing the standard being exceeded more than two-thirds of the year in 2007. The concentration levels are some of the highest the country’s ever seen.

Dr. Alan Zelicoff adds that besides just being a nuisance issue, particulate matter pollution has health hazards and should be treated as a public health issue.

This concludes my series of articles. When I first started, I did mention that I wanted to help people learn more about our air quality and possibly how it could have or is affecting your family.

This is our town. We live here; it’s our home. What I have learned and read I felt should be shared with all Maricopans who moved here. We need to clean this air, especially for our children, the elderly and people who are vulnerable to illnesses. We need to make this area an attractive location to potential homebuyers and bring up the property values once this economy turns.

Y. E. Silva

File photo

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