Central Coast recognized for cleanest air in the nation

A new study finds that Salinas has some of the cleanest air quality in the country, and some are already arguing about the accuracy of the study. California has plenty of highly-polluted counties in the state, but here on the central coast, things look much better.

Several counties in California are some of the worst polluted places in the entire nation. That includes ozone pollution and particle pollution. Los Angeles leads the nation in ozone pollution. but the American Lung Association in California says that areas of the central coast have some of the cleanest air in the country, including Salinas which they say is tied for the top spot for cleanest air. The report, called the State of the Air 2017, says that Salinas ranked number one in part because of it’s zero unhealthy ozone days and one of the lowest year-round particle pollution levels. Despite the good news, the Monterey Bay Air Resources District says the results may be skewed.

“So there are other areas in Salinas. if you live next to a roadway, for instance, your air quality may be different. So while it’s good for Salinas to broadcast this news, it’s not entirely accurate,” said MBART Air Pollution Control Officer, Richard Stedman.

The Air Resources District says the American Lung Association only uses one meter to read air quality at the Salinas Airport, making it impossible to compare results to other parts of the city and county.

In all fairness, MBARD says the American Lung Association does these reports nationwide and may not have the resources to use air quality meters in various parts of every county. To see current and future air quality on the Central Coast, head to www.mbard.org.