In a 2012 study by the Natural Resources Defense Council, Ohio was ranked the second most air-toxic state in the U.S., but some researchers say that Athens has low air pollution rates.
According to the Natural Resources Defense Council, Ohio’s ranking is partially due to having harmful particles in the air from power plants.
Randy Hock, air monitoring manager of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said Ohio’s ranking isn’t representative of Athens’ air quality.
“Measurements of the air quality show that Athens’ air is improving year to year,” Hock said. “Athens is generally a very clean county.”
Kevin Crist, Ohio University professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering, said part of the reason Athens doesn’t have a major air quality issue is that there aren’t a lot of cars.
“Much of the harmful emissions (from the state) come from transportation, industry and power plants,” Crist said. “Athens doesn’t have a lot of those problems.”
Athens has monitors in Gifford State Forest and on the OU campus that collect data and monitor the quality of the air. Hock said the monitoring sites cost about $16,000 per year.
Crist said the biggest contributing factor to air pollution, aside from emissions, is the weather, because wind can disperse harmful particles in the air.
“Even if emissions stay the same, the temperature and the weather have a huge factor in determining air pollution,” Crist said. “Higher temperatures could mean higher air pollution for that day.”
Crist said this summer has been positive for air quality because of the cooler temperatures, resulting in less air pollution. Some air pollutants have a chemical reaction with heat.
In Athens, the biggest contributing factors to emissions include power plants and burning coal, so many are switching over to natural gas.
Air pollutants are problematic because many of them have the potential to affect people living in heavily polluted areas with conditions including asthma, allergies, emphysema and lung cancer. Children are particularly at risk because of their smaller lung capacities.
Some OU students say living in Athens gives them some fresh air, especially for those who come from larger metropolitan areas.
Dayton native Jordan Bryson, a freshman studying psychology, has asthma and said living in the city gave him respiratory problems.
“It seems a lot better living in Athens,” Bryson said. “It’s easier to breathe here. I have a cold right now and I can breathe a lot more easily than I can back home.”
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