Jackson County gets an 'A' for low smog levels

Jackson County ranks as one of the cleanest places in the U.S. for a pollutant that causes smog, the American Lung Association found.

Jackson County gets an "A" from 2004 to 2006 for ozone, a rating that places the county among 189 areas in the country identified as having very low smog levels by the lung association's State of the Air 2008 Report.

The county showed improvement in another airborne pollutant, moving up from a "D" rating last year to a "C" during the same period for soot, or microscopic particle pollution. Josephine County, which isn't tested for ozone levels, got an "A" in the particle pollution category, up from a "B" in the previous period.

The report ranked cities and counties across the nation with the cleanest and dirtiest air and provided report cards on the two most pervasive air pollutants that aggravate lung and respiratory conditions.

As a metropolitan area, Medford ranks as one of the 54 cities in the country identified as having the cleanest air for ozone.

"Some of the aggressive measures you folks have taken have helped," said William Knight, spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in Salem.

He said the improved readings for particle pollution locally can be partly attributed to improved weather conditions, but also to tighter controls on industry, outdoor burning, programs to cut emissions from school buses and changing out old woodstoves for newer, cleaner units.

Particle pollution problems are generally attributable to woodstove smoke, diesel pollution, outdoor burning, dust and industrial sources.

Ozone can be produced through vehicle emissions or industrial sources.

Even though pollution levels are improving, Knight said the situation could change as populations increase or weather patterns worsen, leading to more stagnant days.

At the same time, vehicles are expected to get cleaner, wood stoves are improving and local industry continues to face some tough standards.

The lung association gave Lane and Klamath counties an "F" for having some of the dirtiest particle pollution in the country. The Eugene-Springfield metropolitan area, however, received an "A" for ozone. Klamath County doesn't measure ozone levels.

Dana Kaye, executive director for the American Lung Association of Oregon, said the air quality in Medford has improved markedly in the past 20 years.

During the winter, she recalls it was very dark and sooty when smudge pots were burned.

"I remember moving down there from Portland and hearing about it in the news," she said.

She said she often visits a sister in the Medford area and has noticed a big improvement in the air.

"Even though we've come a long way, we have a lot of work to do," she said.