A new report placed Wisconsin in the top 10 smoggiest states in the country.
The study, conducted by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group (USPIRG), found that Wisconsin exceeded the federal limits for safe smog or ozone levels 169 times in the summer of 2001.
That was the eighth highest number of violations in the nation, carrying the potential of serious health risks that are associated with high levels of smog.
Megan Fitzgerald, state board chair for the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group (WisPIRG), said she is not surprised by Wisconsin’s high placement among smoggy states, since Wisconsin has had a history of ozone problems. But, she added, “It does upset me.”
Fitzgerald said WisPIRG is currently trying to help the problem by encouraging the federal government to pass laws that would help lower the levels of ozone in Wisconsin and the nation.
Larry Bruss, chief of the regional pollutant and mobile source section in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, said the levels of smog in Wisconsin are high, but not as high as the USPIRG report states.
“We should be more like twentieth,” Bruss claims. He believes the data was processed inaccurately, and other states, especially in the northeastern and southeastern areas of the country tend to exhibit higher levels of smog than Wisconsin. Nonetheless, he said, Wisconsin has historically had high levels of smog.
“We know [the high level of smog] is a problem,” Bruss said. “We’ve been at this a long time. Since the late ’70s, many programs have been put in place in the hopes of lowering smog levels.”
Bruss also said in the next few years more programs are scheduled to go into effect that would lower the levels of ozone in the air.
In 2004, new fuel regulations will lower the levels of sulfur found in gasoline. In the same year, large power plants will be forced to lower the number of harmful chemicals they emit into the atmosphere. And, by 2007, further regulations will force diesel fuel to become much cleaner.
High levels of smog are caused primarily by large amounts of sunlight combined with the emissions of automobiles and power plants, University of Wisconsin professor Matt Hitchman said.
Some of this problem comes from the winds off the coast of Lake Michigan that bring pollutants from Chicago. Hitchman said that with increased sunlight, the levels of smog are much higher in the summer. With these higher levels, he says, comes an increase in the health risks associated with smog.
Hitchman said the main health-related danger of smog or ozone is it can potentially damage lung tissue if inhaled. This could lead to such serious health difficulties as asthma attacks. Anyone with particularly weak lungs is at a much greater risk for encountering these problems, he said. Therefore, the dangers of smog are much higher for the elderly and very young children.
Hitchman said this problem could be greatly reduced if people used public transportation more and drove their own cars less.
To UW students and staff that want to do their part in lowering the levels of smog he offered the advice, “Get a free bus pass.”
