Air Near Highways Worst In Summer
By Jessica Ablamsky
During the summer months, cars are an air quality killer, according to a new report from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
In Queens, summertime air quality varies widely, concentrating heavily along major highways. Days like we have experienced this week, with air quality warnings, are particularly dangerous in these areas.
Most major warm weather pollutants in the City are “concentrated in densely populated areas, where traffic is more congested and where more fuel is used for cooking and water heating,” according to the report.
“It’s important to remember that all New Yorkers have a stake in improving the City’s air quality,” said City Health Commissioner Dr. Thomas Farley. “Exposure to the pollutants evaluated in this report can cause grave health problems, including cardiovascular and lung diseases, and premature death.”
The report, which studies 2009 air quality, measures five pollutants: fine-particle pollution, elemental carbon, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide and ozone.
Fine-particle pollution, PM2.5, is a cocktail of solid matter and droplets from car exhaust, power plants and other sources that can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and lungs, and worsen chronic medical conditions such as asthma and heart disease, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Although summertime levels were below EPA standards, areas with the most traffic had concentrations of PM2.5 that were 15 percent higher than areas with the least amount of traffic.
“The study found that areas with the greatest traffic density had three times the concentration of nitric oxide, and twice the concentration of nitrogen dioxide, as areas with the lowest traffic density,” according to the report.
Nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide form when fossil fuels are burned, and can irritate the eyes, nose, throat and cause major respiratory problems.
Ozone follows a different pattern of concentration.
A gas formed when sunlight reacts with vapors emitted during fossil fuel combustion, ozone irritates the respiratory tract and triggers health problems such as asthma attacks, chest pain, coughing and even premature death.
Ozone levels were higher in suburban areas that are downwind of high traffic areas, such as the Rockaways and lower Staten Island.
“To reach the city’s clean-air goals, and reduce air pollution for people living near busy roads, efforts must continue to expand mass transit options, facilitate walking and bicycling, reduce the number of vehicles in the city, and speed the shift towards cleaner and more efficient vehicles,” the report stated.
The report is part of an air quality initiative through the city’s sustainability plan, PlaNYC. The New York City Community Air Survey aims to measure street-level air quality citywide at different times of the year, identify leading sources of local air pollution and suggest ways to reduce them.
Reach Reporter Jessica Ablamsky at jablamsky@queenstribune.com or (718) 357-7400, Ext. 124.