Illustration via Getty Images
It may be a little harder to breathe easy in the Richmond area, according to a nationwide study of air quality.
In its 24th annual “State of the Air” report, released in April and covering data from 2019 to 2021, the American Lung Association says ground-level ozone air pollution remained at the same level as in last year’s survey of the Richmond region, which in the report includes 13 counties and four cities, earning it a “B” grade. The area’s cleanest counties include Charles City, Hanover and Henrico, which each saw zero days that were high in ozone. However, Henrico County and the city of Richmond experienced their first short-term spikes in particle pollution in 10 years, earning a “B” grade and dropping the region from the report’s list of cleanest cities. The grades put the region in the middle of the report’s metropolitan area rankings.
When asked about the report’s findings, a state Department of Environmental Quality spokesperson noted that “Richmond didn’t have any [fine particulate] exceedance days during that reporting period, and there was one ozone exceedance day in each year.”
The DEQ’s annual air quality report states that ground-level ozone in Virginia “is usually only a problem during the late spring to summer months when the sunlight is most intense,” while particle pollution can be breathed in year-round and potentially absorbed into the bloodstream, making it a “particular concern to people with heart or lung disease.”
“Even one poor air quality day is one too many,” says Aleks Casper, regional director for the Lung Association, adding that “Virginia must continue to enact policies to cut all harmful pollutants and ultimately protect the health and well-being of Virginians. This includes policies that would help Virginia’s transition to zero-emission vehicles through continued participation in Advanced Clean Car standards.”
Earlier this year, Senate Democrats stymied a Republican effort to stop the state Air Pollution Control Board from implementing a low-emissions and zero-emissions vehicle program approved in 2021.
