Bakersfield most polluted city in USA

[jdavid93225]

Originally Posted by mandom

and this is exactly the root of the problem. respiratory diseases due to environmental causes take time to develop. the kids who grow up here and spend their whole lives here are the ones who will have chronic respiratory problems in the future. i know because i've seen my share of these types of cases. i guess it's part of the bakersfield "culture."

jdavid93225 hit the nail on the head regarding the source of the pollution. many people think that the central valley is the dumping ground for the pollution from LA and the bay area, but that's only partly true. the majority comes from pollutants generated in the central valley proper. there was some kind of environmental agency report floating around that confirmed this.

after 3 months here, i ended up getting a hepa air cleaner for the house, my only refuge from the air out there.

In general, I like Bakersfield. I go there frequently to visit friends and to do some shopping. It's not very far from where I live, and it's much nicer to visit than the L.A. metro area, in large part because of how congested the L.A. area is. I also enjoy some of the recreational opportunities Bakersfield has to offer.

Where I live, I am in the mountains, at about the 5300 foot elevation. The quality of our air here is much better than any of the nearby valleys (San Joaquin, Antelope, Santa Clarita, San Fernando). I have several friends and neighbors that also travel to Bakersfield regularly. Several of them comment regularly on how the air quality affects their respiration and/or their allergies. Perhaps it's because of the change in air quality as they come out of a clean air environment into dirtier air, or maybe it's just the fact that the air is dirtier when they get there. Either way, though, they are affected by the air quality in the San Joaquin Valley.

I know of at least one or two of my friends that have said their problems were worse when they were in the areas where cropdusters were in use. Many of the farms are adjacent to major roads in the area, and when they are being sprayed the cropdusters often fly out over the road to turn around for their next pass. I'm sure that some of the chemicals they are using get onto the road (where they could be kicked up by tires) and/or vehicles on the road.

For those that have respiratory problems, the air quality in and around Bakersfield could certainly add to the problems. My daughter has asthma and has had attacks (in Bakersfield) from activity that normally wouldn't cause a problem (at home). This is not often the case, but it has happened more than once.