Bangor's air healthy, but be careful inhaling in southern Maine
Bangor has some of the best air quality in the country, but southern Maine residents still are breathing unhealthy levels of pollution, an American Lung Association report found.
The report, “State of the Air,” also noted that air quality has improved statewide from 2010-2012, according to the Bangor Daily News. The newspaper noted that nearly half of Maine residents live in counties with fair to poor air quality.
The report covered two of the most widespread air pollution types, ozone, which is the primary ingredient in smog, and air-particle pollution, also known as soot, which can lodge deeply into lung tissue and pass into the bloodstream. Ozone also is a powerful respiratory irritant.
Penobscot, Androscoggin, Aroostook, Oxford and Sagadahoc are the five Maine counties that earned an “A” grade from the association, according to the BDN. However, ozone levels were worse in Cumberland County, which got a “C” grade, and in York and Hancock counties, which each got “D” grades.
Bangor was among the four cities national that recorded no unhealthy ozone days and that also scored well on short-term and year-round particle pollution. Last year, the newspaper said, Bangor was one of 16 cities across the United States considered the cleanest for particle pollution.
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