One of five Chicago school kids has asthma
CHICAGO Organization ranks Chicago 10th highest in fine-particle pollution

BY BETH STEVENSON
Medill News Service
This story ran on nwitimes.com on Wednesday, February 1, 2006 12:20 AM CST

CHICAGO | Now that a smoking ban has been implemented in Chicago, clean air advocates are targeting the city's soot.

"Chicago has some of the worst soot pollution in the nation," said spokeswoman Frances Canonizado of the Illinois Public Information Research Group. "Our kids and senior citizens suffer asthma attacks and other serious health problems as a result."

One out of five children in Chicago schools has asthma and 480,000 Chicago adults suffer from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago. Both conditions can be aggravated by soot in the air.

A survey released last week of nationwide environmental agencies, conducted by Illinois PIRG, ranked Chicago 10th highest among large metropolitan areas in fine-particle pollution.

Particulate pollution -- which actually includes dirt, dust, mold and ashes as well as soot -- comes from vehicle exhaust, wood burning, mining activities and power plants, according to the American Lung Association.

The PIRG report's findings support legislation introduced by Illinois state Rep. Elaine Nekritz, D-Northbrook, that would limit the amount of time that vehicles with diesel engines can be left idling, Canonizado said.

"Implementing such a policy would improve the air quality in Illinois and help protect the public from the deadly fine particles in diesel emissions," Anderson said.

Soot and fine particles, often smaller than the width of a single human hair, are easily inhaled deep into the lungs where they can accumulate, according to Partners for Clean Air, a Chicago-based coalition of businesses, industry, and local government.

The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that thousands of elderly people die prematurely as a result of exposure to fine particles each year.

Particulate pollution is especially dangerous for people with heart and lung diseases as well as children and the elderly, said Renate Anderson, an environmental health associate at Chicago's lung association.

People who work and exercise outdoors also can be affected, experts said.

Avoiding exercise near high-traffic areas, limiting strenuous outdoor activity when particle levels are high, eliminating indoor smoking and reducing the use of wood-burning fireplaces can limit exposure, according to the national lung association.

A smoking ban in most public places in Chicago including restaurants went into affect Jan. 16.

Jill Watson, a spokeswoman for the Illinois EPA, said there were 13 "action" days when pollution levels were considered unhealthy in 2005, compared with none in 2004. Five of those days were due only to particulate matter. Air quality is posted daily on the EPA Web site.

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