Air quality?? (Jacksonville, Tampa, St. Petersburg: best cities, allergies, air pollution)

[PalmTreeLover99]

So, wondering about the air quality in the Tampa/Spring Hill/LOL areas. In every picture I see the skies look bright blue with big fluffy clouds and no pollution. Is this how it looks most of the time? No one in my family has asthma or anything, but I am looking for cleaner air than Nashville offers. We sit sort of in a bowl here and stuff seems to not flow out. People are sick constantly and last week I went out and the air was so heavy my lungs were hurting! First time that has happened here, but I do normally have trouble getting in nice deep breaths. Not to mention the bad sinus headaches I am plagued with. So, I need to know is the air cleaner and clearer down there?? I would think with the constant showers that it would almost have to be.

[compelled to reply]

Tampa has the dubious distinction of being the most polluted city in Florida. HOWEVER, Florida is only one of three states east of the Mississippi to meet all EPA standards. So basically, it's the worst of the best. The air quality is above average.

[PalmTreeLover99]

Thanks for your response! I'm curious...what are the other 2 states east of the Mississippi that meet the standards?

[compelled to reply]

I can't say I'm sure, but heres where I got my information from

Division of Air Resource Management - FDEP

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Tampa has the dubious distinction of being the most polluted city in Florida. HOWEVER, Florida is only one of three states east of the Mississippi to meet all EPA standards. So basically, it's the worst of the best. The air quality is above average.

I think you once again may want to check your facts.
Here is from the American Lung Association. Tampa happens to be on the list as one of the cleanest.

Florida
Florida had some of the cleanest cities and counties in the nation. Six cities were among the cleanest cities for ozone pollution: Deltona-Daytona Beach-Palm Coast, Gainesville, Lakeland, Naples-Marco Island, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville and Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce. Three ranked among the cleanest for year-round particle levels: Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville ranked 17th cleanest and Cape Coral-Fort Myers ranked 18th, while Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce ranked as the 22nd cleanest. In addition to Deltona-Daytona Beach-Palm Coast, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, seven other cities made it on the list of the cleanest for short-term particle pollution: Gainesville, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Ocala, Orlando-The Villages, Sarasota- Bradenton-Venice and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.

Sixteen counties landed on the list of the cleanest counties for short-term exposure to particles. Fourteen counties were on the list of the cleanest counties for ozone pollution.

[PalmTreeLover99]

Yay!!! I am so excited to hear this! I'm telling you not being able to breathe properly makes me tired. And the constant headaches...well, you can imagine. I'm really looking forward to some clean air! Even if it's only 1 of 3 cities to pass any sort of guidelines that is still an improvement over what I'm used to

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Mike Peterson

I think you once again may want to check your facts.
Here is from the American Lung Association. Tampa happens to be on the list as one of the cleanest.

Florida
Florida had some of the cleanest cities and counties in the nation. Six cities were among the cleanest cities for ozone pollution: Deltona-Daytona Beach-Palm Coast, Gainesville, Lakeland, Naples-Marco Island, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville and Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce. Three ranked among the cleanest for year-round particle levels: Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville ranked 17th cleanest and Cape Coral-Fort Myers ranked 18th, while Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce ranked as the 22nd cleanest. In addition to Deltona-Daytona Beach-Palm Coast, Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Port St. Lucie-Fort Pierce and Cape Coral-Fort Myers, seven other cities made it on the list of the cleanest for short-term particle pollution: Gainesville, Jacksonville, Lakeland, Ocala, Orlando-The Villages, Sarasota- Bradenton-Venice and Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater.

Sixteen counties landed on the list of the cleanest counties for short-term exposure to particles. Fourteen counties were on the list of the cleanest counties for ozone pollution.

Link please. I believe you, and like I said, it's the "worst of the best", but I would like to see a link.

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by compelled to reply

Link please. I believe you, and like I said, it's the "worst of the best", but I would like to see a link.

American Lung Association:*SOTA06 Regional Analyses (http://lungaction.org/reports/sota06_analyses3.html - broken link)

And I apologize if my previous reply seemed curt, it is just due to the fact that too many on here want to beat up on areas without really knowing them.

[compelled to reply]

Originally Posted by Mike Peterson

American Lung Association:*SOTA06 Regional Analyses (http://lungaction.org/reports/sota06_analyses3.html - broken link)

And if my previous reply seemed curt, it is just due to the fact that too many on here want to beat up on areas without really knowing them.

Thank you, and I wasn't beating it up. It's just that I read on the environmental protection website that Tampa was the most polluted city in FL. It's still one of the best cities for air (as observed in your link), they just have more EPA "Moderate" days than some of the other major cities. Unhealthy days are still almost nonexistent. Interestingly the most polluted parts of the state were actually in the rural panhandle and not the urbanized sections.

[Mike1306]

Originally Posted by PalmTreeLover99

Yay!!! I am so excited to hear this! I'm telling you not being able to breathe properly makes me tired. And the constant headaches...well, you can imagine. I'm really looking forward to some clean air! Even if it's only 1 of 3 cities to pass any sort of guidelines that is still an improvement over what I'm used to

Keep in mind that if you have allergies you will be affected here but the smog/ air pollution is minimal in Spring Hill if it is even measurable at all.