CityofLongBeach

Communities across California participated in the first-ever Clean Air Day initiative on Wednesday that asks individuals to pledge to take action to improve air quality—whether its carpooling, changing air filters or turning off the lights.

The whole point is to improve air quality, a big issue in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area, which was named the most polluted in the United States by the American Lung Association.

Last month, USC announced a newly published research paper that found the fetuses of women who live in smoggy cities have altered thyroid development, raising concerns about health impacts later in life.

Carrie Breton, an author of the study and professor of preventive medicine at USC’s Keck School of Medicine, said researchers used Long Beach as one of the sites.

It’s one of the few studies to monitor air pollution effects on a developing fetus and the first to track pollution changes month by month on thyroid hormones, according to the university.

The Port of Long Beach was one of multiple companies and municipalities to pledge to take action on Clean Air Day. The city’s Long Beach Development Services department also showed its support.

According to the California Air Resources Board, transportation accounts for 41 percent of air pollution in California.

“If you drive a vehicle that is 20 years old and older, for example, you are among the 5 percent of vehicles on the road responsible for 44 percent of daily smog-forming emissions from motor vehicles,” according to the coalition.

For more information on Clean Air Day click here.

Stephanie Rivera is the community engagement editor. Reach her at [email protected] or on Twitter at @StephRivera88.