This plume of white smoke was released by the Metcalf Energy Center in San Jose, north of Morgan Hill and San Martin. The plume of smoke travels south, further polluting the region's air.
San Martin continues to have the worst ozone violations in the valley, according to air quality officials.
The small town of 6,000 people, sandwiched between Gilroy and Morgan Hill, for example, exceeded California's air quality standard four times during 2007 - the only community in Santa Clara to go over the .070 ppm mark.
Lower EPA ozone limits bringing the new 8-hour national standard from .080 parts per million to .075 ppm are also no consolation to South County officials who worry about the worsening quality of the air we breathe.
"We definitely have some of the worst air quality around," San Martin Neighborhood Alliance President Sylvia Hamilton said. "A lot of people around here have breathing problems. You have to live with it day in and day out."
The four violations happened on April 27, May 8, June 13 and Sept. 26 of last year. The year before, San Martin had five violations, and Gilroy had two.
"It sounds very concerning," said Morgan HIll Mayor Steve Tate. "I don't know what's causing those violations to occur... It would be nice to know the source of the pollution."
He added: "It's a regional issue that we need to address."
There were no ozone violations in nearby Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Even in San Jose, ozone levels higher than the limit were not detected.
Thanks to wind patterns, the ozone detected in San Martin probably lurks above Morgan Hill, too, city planner Jim Rowe said.
"The air being measured for quality in San Martin is the same air that passes through Morgan Hill," he said. "So it's a pretty good indicator of the air quality of Morgan Hill."
While San Martin met both the new and the old national ozone restrictions every day of 2007, with .073 ppm being the highest level of ozone detected, it was the highest among the five cities in Santa Clara County that have air monitoring stations.
"That's just part of living in a congested area," Joe Bentley, anothe board member of the alliance, said. "If you want perfect air quality, move out to the country, way out into the country."
Bentley said he didn't even know if it was possible to have better air quality in South County.
"There's just good days and bad days," Bentley said.
Bay Area Air Quality Management District spokesperson Karen Schkolnick agreed.
"People should be aware that if you live in an inland community with high temperatures, you're going to be more susceptible to pollution," Schkolnick said. "There will always be ozone."
The Santa Clara Valley area also falls just short of meeting either standard consistently, according to Schkolnick.
On hot summer days, a combination of traffic in the overall Bay Area, downward winds and inland high temperatures mix to create a smog stew over the valley, Schkolnick said.
That stew contributes to myriad health problems including asthma, so even the lower limits the EPA announced on March 12 don't meet California's high standards to ensure long-term public health.
Even low levels of ozone in the valley are something to sneeze at, say area health groups and politicians who want more to be done to further lower air pollution in the region. One of the ways to do this, they say, is through individual action.
"We have to work to protect the climate, too," Schkolnick said.
Schkolnick said that the things individuals can do to lower their personal impact on pollution now will also improve climate change conditions in the short term, and because pollution is created in part because of high temperatures, improvements in air quality in the long term will be seen.
Some changes individuals can make to lessen their contribution to pollution are driving less, turn thermostats down and choosing more eco-friendly products.
The ozone level for Santa Clara Valley on Friday, March 21 was .032 ppm, according to preliminary data provided by the air quality management district. That level is expected to rise in coming months as the summer heat intensifies.
Natalie Everett
Natalie Everett Natalie Everett is the education and city reporter for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106, ext. 201, or neverett@morganhilltimes.com.
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