Test Your Knowledge

Answers below.

1. In 2003, how many days did the South Coast Air Basin (LA, Orange, Riverside & San Bernardino Counties) exceed federal air quality standards?

a) 14 days
b) 25 days
c) 68 days
d) 87 days

2. What city has the highest levels of ozone pollution in the U.S.?

a) Los Angeles
b) Houston
c) New York
d) Phoenix

3. Each year, the South Coast Air Basin area suffers more smoggy days than any other area in California. What part of California suffers the next highest number of smoggy days?

a) San Diego
b) San Francisco Bay Area
c) San Joaquin Valley
d) Monterey Bay Area

4. A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study focused on the costs and benefits of the Clean Air Act from 1970 to 1990. They found that the total cost was about $500 billion. What do you think the amount of total benefit was?

a) $200 billion
b) $500 billion
c) $2 trillion
d) $22 trillion

5. Economists estimate that the cost of air pollution (health care, lost tourism, lost productivity, etc.) in Southern California is _______ per year.

a) $9 - $14 million
b) $90 - $140 million
c) $9 - $14 billion

6. Which of the following is not caused or aggravated by toxic air pollution?

a) cancer
b) asthma
c) eye & throat irritation
d) baldness
e) chronic bronchitis

7. If fully enforced, California's Smog Check program, which requires periodic checks of cars to see if they comply with emissions requirements, is capable of reducing smog-causing emissions by:

a) 30 tons per day
b) 60 tons per day
c) 100 tons per day
d) 200 tons per day.

8. According to the local air quality management district, what is the average risk of a South Coast Air Basin resident developing cancer during their lifetime as a result of exposure to toxic air pollutants:

a) 1 in a million
b) 14 in a million
c) 1400 in a million
d) 14,000 in a million

9. According to recent studies conducted by the local air quality management district, what percentage of toxic air pollution in Southern California comes from diesel trucks, buses & other diesel engines?

a) 71%
b) 62%
c) 48%
d) 26%
e) 10%

10. Electric cars are how much cleaner than gasoline cars (if you include emissions from power plants)?

a) 27% cleaner
b) 45% cleaner
c) 67% cleaner
d) 97% cleaner

Answers

1. (c) The air in southern California failed to meet air quality standards on 68 days. That’s almost one out of every five days.

2. (b) Los Angeles. Although Houston had higher levels for a few years, LA is once again the worst. The State of the Air report released by the American Lung Association in 2004 ranked cities across the country, and LA was number one, with Fresno, Bakersfield, Visalia, Merced, Sacramento, and Hanford close behind.

3. (c) San Joaquin Valley. The Central Valley of California has the fastest growing air pollution problem in California. Federal one-hour ozone standards were exceeded on 37 days in the San Joaquin Valley in 2003. That compares with only one day over the standard in San Diego County, and one day over in the SF Bay Area. The Monterey Bay Area had zero days in which the federal one-hour ozone standards were exceeded. The tougher federal 8-hour ozone standards were exceeded 109 times in the South Coast Air Basin, 134 times in the San Joaquin Valley, 7 times in the SF Bay Area, and only twice in the Monterey Bay area.

4. (d) 22 trillion dollars. That's trillion, with a "t". America spent $500 billion to reduce air pollution, but the benefits far outweighed the costs. Of course, we’re still a long way from clean air. It will cost a lot of money to get the rest of the way there, but the benefits will continue to be far greater than the costs.

5. (c) Yep, that's $9-$14 billion with a "b".

6. (d) As far as we know, there is no link between air pollution and baldness. But the health effects of air pollution are many, and can be serious. Medical research shows that toxic air pollution is linked to cancer, chronic bronchitis, and asthma.

7. (c) The Smog Check program, when fully enforced, reduces ozone causing emissions by as much as 100 tons per day. There are few things that can reduce emissions by this much. Unfortunately, the Smog Check program is not being fully enforced. The Coalition for Clean Air advocates for the full enforcement of the Smog Check program.

8. (c) According to the Multiple Air Toxics Exposure (MATES II) Study, released in 1999, the average carcinogenic risk in the South Coast air basin is about 1,400 per million people. When "carcinogenic risk" is discussed, it typically refers to the probability of a person contracting cancer over the course of a lifetime if exposed to the source of cancer-causing compounds for 70 years. In other words, a cancer risk of 1,400 in a million at a location means that individuals staying at that location for 70 years have a 1,400 in a million chance of contracting cancer as a result of their exposure.

9. (a) 71% of toxic air contamination is a product of diesel trucks and buses, according to the AQMD Mates II study. This is one reason the Coalition for Clean Air's Transportation Program advocates replacing diesel vehicles with clean alternative fuel technologies.

10. (d) Electric Cars are 97% cleaner than gasoline powered cars. And electric cars get cleaner over time, as power plants are required to reduce their emissions. Gasoline cars tend to deteriorate over time and become more polluting as they get older.

Do you have more questions about air pollution? Contact us at air@coalitionforcleanair.org.