ALBANY – Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties received failing grades for the number of days of ozone pollution in the period 2016 through 2018. The annual report by the American Lung Association also rated Dutchess County with a “D” grade. Only Orange County passed with a “B” grade, up from a “C” one year earlier for ozone, also known as smog.
The grades for the other four counties were the same as those from last year.
Despite that, Michael Seilback, national assistant vice president for State Public Policy for the American Lung Association, said over time, there has been some improvement.
“The trend is still moving in the right direction. A failing grade is a failing grade, but if my kids come home with a 20 on their tests compared to a 60 on their tests, it’s going to tell me, either way, they have a lot of work to do, but the 60 is a vast improvement,” he said.
Orange County is the only county in the region monitored for high particle pollution – soot – and it received a grade of “A,” the same as it had last year.
For many Americans, the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated just how important lung health really is,” said Dr. Payel Gupta, a New York City-based allergist and volunteer medical spokeswoman for the American Lung Association. “There is no shortcut, no alternative to breathing. We must do more to protect our lungs from anything that puts our ability to break at risk, be it a virus, tobacco smoke, or air pollution.”
