How did South Florida fare in pollution report?

Take a deep breath, Broward County. The air quality in your backyard got strong marks fromthe AmericanLung Association.

Palm Beach County did not do as well, but officials said their performance was still “pretty good.”

In its 2013 State of the Air report, tapping federal air quality data from 2009 to 2011, the organization ranked the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach area as 25th in the nation among the “cleanest metropolitan areas in the country” for annual particle pollution, tying with two other Florida areas: Lakeland and Orlando. Only 27 highly populated areas made the list.

Every year for the past14 years, the AmericanLung Association has analyzed three consecutive years of data fromU.S. Environmental Protection Agency air-quality monitors to compile its annual report card in an effort to raise public awareness on pollution.

Overall, the nation as a whole is breathingmucheasier, with air emissions that churn out the six most widespread pollutants dropping dramatically since1970, thanks in large part to the federal Clean AirAct, the report noted.

In the ranking’s county-by-county grading, Broward scored an “A” for its ozone quality— its first top grade ever — and a “B” for its short-term particle pollution, which measures hours-long spikes in those minuscule specks of industrial and vehicle emissions that penetrate the lungs and make people sick.

Palm Beach County earned a “B” for ozone quality and a “C” for shortterm particle pollution.

Daniela Banu, air quality administrator for Broward’s Pollution Prevention, Remediation and Air Quality Division, said the county’s high scores are vindication of hardwork through the years, in monitoring air quality and educating the public onways to drive down pollution and emission rates

“I feelwonderful, very excited,” Banu said. “It’s the first time Broward Countywas rated that high.”

Among Broward’s biggest efforts, she said, is raising awareness with local children, through in-school programs, poster contests and other projects that accentuate cutting back on driving, using LED lights, lowering home thermostats and shutting off household equipment like TVs and computers when not in use.

“Whenstudents get involved, parents and families get involved,” she said. “It’s one of the most effectiveways to reach parents.”

James Stormer, environmental administrator for the Palm Beach County Health Department, could not explain the difference in the two counties’ grades, but said his county had suffered a few days of smoke fromwildfires to the north that did not reach into Broward.

During the study period, the county had two “orange days,” when pollution levels had reached a level where people with respiratory problems felt uncomfortable, but no “red days,” when average citizenswould have trouble breathing. Broward had no orange or red days from2009 to 2011, according to the report.

“For a largely populated metropolitan area, a ‘B’ for ozone is pretty good,” Stormer said.

He added that Palm Beach County’s decent ozone grade says something about the region’s increasingmove toward cleaner power plants andnewer cars with lower fuel emissions, among themany mandates included in the Clean AirAct.

“We’re starting to see those benefits,” he said.