Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations
Watch Live

San Diego County Air Quality Gets Failing Grade

The American Lung Association is out with its report card for the nation's air quality. As KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce tells us, San Diego and Imperial Counties are failing the sniff test.

San Diego County Air Quality Gets Failing Grade


The American Lung Association is out with its report card for the nation's air quality. As KPBS Reporter Ed Joyce tells us, San Diego and Imperial Counties are failing the sniff test.  

The Lung Association gave failing grades to San Diego and Imperial counties because of high levels of ozone and particle pollution or soot.

Advertisement

The association's Bonnie Holmes-Gen says car and truck emissions are part of the problem.

Holmes-Gen: This year San Diego had enough days of poor air quality to reach the F level. That's a warning sign that we need to be - again, we can't be complacent. We need to step up our efforts to control pollution.

She says two-out-of-five Americans live in counties with bad air quality. In California, 26 of 52 counties monitored got failing grades.

Other Southern California counties receiving 'F' grades for unhealthy air include Riverside, Orange, San Bernardino and Los Angeles.

Ed Joyce, KPBS News.