A new report places the Bay Area among the regions with the worst air quality in the entire country.
The report ranked San Jose, San Francisco and Oakland seventh in terms of daily particle pollution, fifth in terms of annual particle pollution and thirteenth most polluted by ozone.
For Daisy Rivas, finding out about this report is discouraging news.
“Well, I’m going to die earlier because I grew up here,” Daisy said.
She lives in the neighborhood next to the Reid-Hill View airport in San José where small planes have contaminated these residents with lead, and to that, she now adds the new report from the American Lung Association that indicates that, when it comes to particles pollutants, the Bay Area is worse than Los Angeles.
“Now I understand why in recent years I have had to use my asthma medicine more,” said Maricela Lechuga, an activist from east San José.
Juan Ortellado, spokesperson for the Bay Area Air Quality District, said that it must be taken into account that the data collected is from 2020 to 2022, which was a period of large forest fires.
“The Bay Area is closer to the regions where there were wildfires in the years 2020 to 2022, so the impact of those fires was much greater here than in Southern California,” Ortellano said.
However, Contra Costa, Alameda and Santa Clara counties earned a grade F rating when it comes to smog pollution.
“The truth is that there is a lot of traffic. Well, if you go to work, it only takes you from Palo Alto here to San José about 1 hour and a half at 4 or 5 in the afternoon,” said Daisy.
Health experts added that poor air quality affects us all, but especially those who suffer from respiratory problems.
“When we fear these high levels of pollution, it is highly recommended not to exercise outdoors because when we exercise we breathe faster and that increases the amount of particles that reach our lungs,” explained Ilan Shapiro, doctor at Altamed. Health Services.
Therefore, a tool that we already know from the past is still good protection.
“Yes, we have to add that the N95 would be the best one that can remove more particles that are around us,” said Shapiro.
Activists like Maricela also believe that it is a wake-up call for public officials.
“This report is a signal because it is so difficult for families, for poor people to be able to live and survive in the Bay Area,” concluded Maricela.
