NORTH COUNTY —— San Diego County's air is getting a littlecleaner, especially in North County, according to a report thisweek from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The agency has taken San Diego County off a national list of counties with unhealthy levels of microscopic crud in the air —— known in scientific terms as particulate matter.
Lower pollution levels are good news for people with sensitive lungs, including children, the elderly and patients with heart and lung disease, health officials said.
The cleaner air also means that the county will no longer face as many federal environmental hurdles when trying to build and fund transportation projects, said Rob Reider, a planning manager with the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District.
"It means we're breathing cleaner air and will save some time and money to boot," Reider said Wednesday.
Levels of particulate matter, which primarily comes from cars, diesel trucks, power plants and industrial businesses, have dropped about 10 percent in the last five years throughout the county, according to the district. Similar pollution has decreased by about 15 percent in Escondido, which five years ago had the highest level of particulate matter in the county.
The county still has unhealthy levels of other air pollutants, including ozone, which is the main ingredient of smog, according to the federal agency. And even though the region's level of particulate pollution is low enough to meet federal standards, the county's air is still too dirty to meet California's pollution standards, which are more stringent than the federal ones.
The latest report is "good news for the public in the San Diego area … but the area still needs to do more to reduce pollution," said Alison Davis, a spokeswoman for the federal agency.
San Diego County was one of 21 taken off the federal list of counties with dangerous levels of particulate pollution earlier this week.
Counties that remain on the list and do not show they are working to reduce air pollution could lose federal highway dollars.
Environmental officials attributed the decrease in particulate pollution to newer cars and buses, which burn fuel more cleanly than older vehicles.
Areas closest to major freeways, such as Escondido, have some of the highest levels of particulate pollution and have seen the biggest drops in the pollution as newer cars hit the streets.
"As older, dirtier cars are being replaced by new, cleaner cars, the air quality is getting better," Reider said. "Because there are so many cars on the road, the contribution from cars is the main part of the pollution problem."
Escondido, which is home to Interstate 15 and Highway 78, is the only North County city where the federal agency checks for particulate pollution.
The city reported just under the federal limit of 15 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter of air, the unit the government uses to measure the pollution. Escondido had slightly less pollution than downtown San Diego and more than the county's other pollution checkpoints in El Cajon, Chula Vista and Kearny Mesa.
Particulate matter is dangerous because it can get lodged in the lungs and aggravate illnesses such as asthma and bronchitis. It is particularly harmful in children, whose lungs have not fully developed, said Jan Cortez, vice president of environmental health for the American Lung Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties.
San Diego County needs to continue to work to reduce its particulate pollution to meet the more stringent state pollution limit of 12 micrograms of particulate matter per cubic meter of air.
"The standards are set at a level to protect sensitive populations," Cortez said. "This means our air is still dirty enough to cause lung problems in children, seniors and people with breathing problems."
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Contact staff writer Erin Schultz at (760) 739-6644 or firstname.lastname@example.org .