There were times in the early 1970s when the Los Angeles Basin looked like a scene from the movie “Blade Runner.” Pollution seemed to ooze from the sky and the mid-day sun was cloaked in a yellow haze.

Three decades of hard work by anti-pollution forces and the laws to back them up have almost re-invented the air in Southern California. Many days that would have been murky and congestive in 1972 are now bright and sunny.

We say “almost re-invented” because a report this week from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shows that Californians, especially those living in the L.A. Basin, are not out of the bad-air woods just yet. In fact, California is second only to New York for having the nation's most toxic air.

Overall, 66 of every million Californians is at serious risk of contracting cancer from breathing local air. The situation is far worse in L.A. and Orange counties, where the risk factors ranges from 79 per million in Orange and 93 per million in L.A. County.

Exhaust fumes are to blame for the increased risk of cancer from bad air, so it makes sense that Southern California would be a place where the threat is greatest. That's especially true for the Los Angeles area, where diesel emissions add greatly to the degree of risk.

All of which makes irrational any attempts by Congress or industry to weaken this state's air-quality standards. California's laws are the toughest in the nation - and they should stay the toughest.

March 24, 2006

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