Your Diocese

ROMEOVILLE, IL — Asthma is a chronic disease suffered by people of all ages and backgrounds; in fact, over 14.9 million people suffer from the condition each year. For someone diagnosed with breathing related problems, the summer months can often turn from a time of fun and frolic into a serious health concern.

According to Bill Heidel, who serves as respiratory care manager at Provena St. Joseph Medical Center in Joliet, asthma constricts the airways in response to environmental triggers. This in turn causes a bronchial spasms and labored breathing.

Environmental triggers can be anything from dog hair to ragweed; it varies from person to person. “When trying to determine what might be triggering an asthmatic reaction, we take a look at what someone surrounds themselves with each day,” he said.

While asthma and allergies can strike anyone, Heidel said the disease most often affects children under the age of 17. “Over 25 percent of those affected by this illness are people of that age group,” he said. In fact this number is a 5 percent increase from the amount of asthma cases diagnosed in 2004, according to Heidel.

Ozone, a main component of air pollution, acts as an irritant for those suffering from asthma and allergies, said Heidel. “With so much heat and humidity in the air during the summer, ozone gets into the lungs and causes the airways to swell—making breathing difficult.”

Determined by the ratio of pollution to breathable air, also known as air quality, ozone action days warn those with asthma to limit their outside activity. “The harder you force your lungs to work in the heat, the more likely you are to end up in the hospital,” said Heidel.

According to Ron Burke, associate director of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, the air quality in the state of Illinois is much better than it was 10 years ago. “That is mainly because we have worked so hard to put legislation in place to make it happen,” he said.

Specifically, air quality was good or moderate 94 percent of the time in 2004, up 5 percent from 2003. According to Burke, ozone emissions had decreased by 9 percent in 2004, which allowed the state of Illinois to meet the federal air quality goal. “This was the first year that the state’s ozone levels did not rise above the federal one hour health standard,” he said. The name for the standard comes from the fact that air quality is monitored by the government every hour on the hour.

According to Burke, this standard goes hand in hand with air quality. “The amount of ozone in the air is not to exceed .12 per million volumes of air,” he said. If the ozone levels go beyond this amount more than one day a year, each day after it is declared an ozone action day.

Concern for the general health is what drives the EPA to focus on air pollution issues, especially in circumstances that pose a threat to people exposed to airborne contaminates, such as asthma sufferers, he said. “While other air quality action groups are mainly concerned about the effects pollution has on the environment, we are more concerned with the health aspect of things,” said Burke.

Having served as a staff member at the Chicago branch of the American Lung Association, Burke understands the risks involved when breathing contaminated air. “The problem is that many people don’t take the risks into account when going about their daily tasks during the summer,” he said.

Allergies and asthma aren’t the only chronic diseases with symptoms that can worsen during the summer months. Heart disease can also be affected by heat and humidity. “The harder it is to breath the harder your heart has to work to make up for it and that can cause problems,” said Burke.

While Burke is responsible for the dissemination of public health related information, especially as they concern the aspects of pollution-inspired ailments, he said the Illinois EPA at large has put in place several programs designed to educate the public on ways to reduce the number of ozone action days declared in the state. “While I will admit we have only scratched the surface of this issue, I do believe we are making a difference,” said Burke. One of the interesting programs sponsored by the EPA is its lawnmower buyback program. “On the weekends we set up the buyback program at a school or another public area and offer to buy people’s gasoline-powered lawn mowers in exchange for a $150 voucher,” he said.

This voucher system benefits clean air initiatives by eliminating lawnmower emissions, Burke said. Push models average about $350 and riders go for about $550, according to Burke. “At our last buyback we exchanged 180 vouchers for gas-powered lawn mowers,” said Burke. But, while an electrical lawnmower could do wonders for the air, Burke did admit there were some drawbacks.

“I currently own an electric mower and I would suggest that anyone with a small yard purchase one,” he said. The drawback to using an electric mower is the short cord used to power the machine. “Anyone with a bigger yard would do better to buy a battery-powered riding lawn mower,” he said.

Despite the drawbacks, the lawn mower buyback does appear to be helping the environment. According to Burke, buying back 1,000 gas-powered lawnmowers would reduce emissions by 9.8 tons a year. “That equals getting over 230 cars off the highway,” he said. The program also buys back old conventional gas cans in exchange for low emitting ones. “For every 1,000 we buy back that reduces emissions further by 3.9 tons a year. That is equal to getting 85 cars off the highway,” he said.

Another program, in which the EPA has invested its time, is promoting ethanol as a cleaner, more environmental friendly form of fuel. “E85 is made out of corn produced by Illinois farmers and produces 85 percent less emissions than regular unleaded fuel,” said Burke.

While E85 shows promise as a replacement for regular gasoline, some environmental advocates voice concern about effective production techniques. Thomas Murphy, a professor of chemistry at DePaul University, is an expert looking at both the pros and cons of the ethanol issue.

“The main difficulty with E85 is the amount of time it takes just to produce one gallon of the fuel,” Murphy said. As it stands now, it takes a refinery six months to produce 10 gallons of E85. He questions whether or not it’s “really worth it to take so much time to produce so little of the product.”

While he doesn’t dismiss the value of integrating E85 into the total mix of petroleum use, Murphy said he believes air pollution control should begin with small steps by people in their own homes. “The more we can do on a small scale, the more successful we will be in the long run,” he said.

Another way Murphy suggested the government control air pollution is through proper enforcement of emission standards. Currently emissions are calculated by looking at a vehicle capacity for emissions against current state and federal standards. However, Murphy said that car builders and chemical plants are ignoring the law and putting out high emission products. “If we want things to get better than it’s up to us to speak out before it’s too late,” he said.