EPA: Maine’s summer air quality not so good Ozone at unacceptable levels for total of 15 days

PORTLAND – Maine suffered more unhealthy air quality days this summer than it has in a decade, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

The EPA announced Monday that Maine had 15 days during the summer when ozone levels reached what are considered unhealthy levels. That is the highest number since the state had 17 days of unhealthy air in 1991; the state recorded only three such days in 2000.

The EPA blamed the high number on the warm weather, which can cause smog levels to rise. But the agency also said that the long-term trend in New England is toward cleaner air.

“When we look back to the air quality conditions a generation ago, we can feel proud of the advances we’ve made in reducing pollution,” said Robert Varney, EPA’s New England administrator. “A summer like this one, however, reminds us that our efforts to use cleaner cars and fuels and our commitment to reducing power plant emissions must continue.”

Throughout New England, the EPA recorded 31 days when ground level ozone exceeded .08 parts per million over an eight-hour period.

That compares with 19 high-ozone days in the summer of 2000.

Massachusetts had 27 unhealthy days this summer, followed by Connecticut (25 days) and Rhode Island and Maine (15 days each). New Hampshire reported high smog levels on 10 days, and Vermont on two days.

Smog is caused by vehicles, electric power plants, and a variety of other sources, and can cause breathing problems, aggravate asthma and other lung diseases, and make people more susceptible to respiratory infections.

Maine has reported between three and 17 days of high ozone levels per summer since 1990. In 1988, a particularly hot summer, the EPA recorded 35 days of unhealthy ozone levels.

The New Englandwide total of unhealthy days this year was the highest since 1994, when the region experienced 33 days when ozone levels exceeded federal standards.