Which City would have worse Air Quality: Tracy or Brentwood/Antioch? (Stockton: to buy, live)

[GirlLookinToMove]

We're about to buy a house. A big factor in why we want to move out of the San Joaquin Valley is air quality. It's really hard to afford places with excellent air quality, but would Brentwood at least be a step up from Tracy?

Or do you get even more dirty air there from Martinez and Concord and all of those refineries?

[sonarrat]

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed
Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

If this website is accurate, Antioch and Brentwood have far better air quality than Tracy, which has a high level of CO.

[GirlLookinToMove]

Thank God. I just breathed a huge sigh of relief. Do you think that site is reputable/reliable? I hope so!

Anyone else have any opinions? Thank you!

[clongirl]

I imagine that the air would be better in these areas because they are much closer to water (the Delta)/wind which seem to blow it further inland? I'm just making an educated guess on this however.

[sonarrat]

As I understand it, and I'm no expert, the problem in the Central Valley is offshore flow. All the pollutants from Stockton's factories, the commercial farms, etc. collect and just sit there in that big open space when there's no westerly wind. Antioch has winds driven by the bay and tributaries, just enough to create a kind of barrier against the pollutants to the east.

[lmk1707]

Here is aggregate data from Contra Costa County from http://www.epa.gov/aircompare/: (broken link)




Compared with San Joaquin County:



And here is the EPA website where you can view current air quality conditions:

http://www.airnow.gov

I was unable to find aggregate data for specific cities going back farther than 7 days. I would use Google or browse the EPA website weblink list to find the exact info you're looking for. Or, talk to your realtor, they may know something more.

[GirlLookinToMove]

This is all very helpful, thank you very much!

I feel pretty good about the move now.

It sounds like air moves much more efficiently in the Antioch area, and that the Delta helps too. The numbers look a lot better than the valley as well.

On the great website that you posted sonarrat, it also looks like Brentwood has far less superfund/toxic sites near it. That's encouraging as well.

[Yvonne1207]

Lived in Tracy for a very long 2 years. Developed minor asthma in that short time and had to leave.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by GirlLookinToMove

We're about to buy a house. A big factor in why we want to move out of the San Joaquin Valley is air quality. It's really hard to afford places with excellent air quality, but would Brentwood at least be a step up from Tracy?

Or do you get even more dirty air there from Martinez and Concord and all of those refineries?

As others have said, it's probably a little better in Brentwood/Antioch, although I'm not sure if it's a huge difference.

The good news is that the long term trend for air quality is for continued improvement. The air quality now is much better than it was 20 or 30 years ago, and even significantly better than it was 10 years ago. I think people forget that.