Oregon Public Broadcasting

The Environmental Protection Agency says the air in parts of five Northwest counties isn’t healthy to breathe.  The agency this week listed areas where the air is too dirty to meet the federal standards for fine particulates. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

The federal list roughly hits the four corners of the Northwest. The points include Klamath Falls and Oakridge, Oregon; Tacoma, Washington and Pinehurst and Logan, Idaho.

The circumstances in each case are different. For example, much of the pollution in Tacoma comes from vehicles. But Mark Boyle from the Idaho Department of Environmental Quality says the tiny town of Pinehurst in North Idaho has a different problem.

Mark Boyle: “There’s only a couple of sources of fine particulate over there and that’s woodstove, open backyard burning and slash burning.”

Pinehurst, Idaho is surrounded by mountains. That makes it hard for air pollutants to escape. Boyle says Pinehurst is cleaning up its air. Many of the old woodstoves in homes have been exchanged for cleaner burning models. But Boyle says the town will have to reduce outdoor burning.

Air pollution is often blamed for respiratory problems in people.