Tips to Protect Yourself

The American Lung Association encourages all Americans to get involved in the fight for cleaner, healthier air.

Advocate
Tell your U.S. Senators and Representatives to keep the Clean Air Act strong! Urge them not to support proposals to weaken our air quality law. Visit www.lungaction.org to see how you can make a difference. Tell EPA we need ozone standards that really protect our health. Let EPA know that you want clean air.

Drive Less, Drive Smart
Walk, bike or carpool. Combine trips and use buses, subways, light rail systems, commuter trains, or other alternatives to driving. — Fill up your gas tank after dark. Gasoline emissions evaporate as you fill up your gas tank and contribute to the formation of ozone, a component of smog. Fill up after dark to keep the sun from turning those gases into air pollution.

Plan Your Day
Check daily air quality levels and air pollution forecasts in your area. Sources include local radio and TV weather reports, newspapers and online at www.epa.gov/airnow.

Help out at Home
Don’t burn wood or trash. Burning firewood and trash are among the major sources of particle pollution in many parts of the country. If you must use a fireplace or stove for heat, convert your woodstoves to natural gas, which produces far fewer emissions. — Use hand-powered or electric lawn care equipment rather than gasoline-powered. Two-stroke engines like lawnmowers and blowers often have no pollution control devices and can pollute the air even more than cars.

Protect Your Health
Avoid exercising outdoors when pollution levels are high. Walk indoors in a shopping mall or gym or use an exercise machine. Always avoid exercising near high traffic areas. Limit the amount of time your child spends playing outdoors if the air quality is unhealthy. — Encourage your child’s school to reduce school bus emissions. Most buses use heavily polluting diesel engines; newer fuels and engines are cleaner. To keep exhaust levels down, schools should not allow school buses to idle outside of the buildings. Many school systems are using the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus Campaign to clean up these dirty emissions.

Volunteer
Get involved. Review your community’s air pollution plans and support state and local efforts to clean up the air. Contact your local American Lung Association at www.lungusa.org or 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872) to find out what is happening in your area and how to get involved.

Learn More
Contact your local American Lung Association for more information about air pollution, lung health, and local air quality control at 1-800-LUNG-USA (1-800-586-4872), or visit www.lungusa.org