In a city once known for factories and smokestacks, one might think the environment in Akron has suffered from years of factories excreting waste products into the atmosphere. In fact, the air quality in Akron is quite good, but the water quality might still need some work.

Air Quality

In 1972, Akron's air ranked as the 12th dirtiest in the country. A combination of four rubber factories and dirtier car emissions filled the air with pollutants that have been reduced significantly in the past 25 years. Now, Akronites breathe air that ranks in the top 10 percent of cities in the U.S., meeting four of six federal air pollutant standards.

The Akron Regional Air Quality Management District monitors five of six criteria air pollutants defined by the U.S. EPA for Medina, Summit and Portage counties. These pollutants include carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, fine particulate matter and very fine particulate matter.

Lynn Malcom, director of ARAQMD, explained the deficiencies in Akron's air.

"Basically, the air in our three counties meets all federal standards except particulate matter and eight-hour ozone," Malcom said. "Very fine particulate matter is any solid or liquid particle in the atmosphere of less than 2.5 microns, which is about one-30th the width of a human hair. It's sometimes called soot, though it's not like the black stuff that comes out of smokestacks. It's much smaller, and you can't see it. Some of the major local sources of these particles are cars and diesel engines, but burning sulfur fuels and coal-burning boilers near Lake Erie also carry to Akron."

Recently-changed federal standards require that very fine particulate matter not exceed 15 micrograms per cubic meter of air per year. Currently, Akron's air contains about 17 or less micrograms. Malcom said no cities meet the new requirement at the present time.

Air is continually monitored by ARAQMD. The eight-hour ozone standard requires that over the course of eight hours, ozone should not compose more than 80 parts of air per billion. Akron averages about 88 to 90 parts per billion. The sources of ozone are similar to the sources of particulate matter, and few if any cities currently meet the standard.

Malcom said that though Akron does not meet two standards, infractions are minor, and the air in Akron is really quite clean. He described the health risks associated with particulate matter and ozone.

"The finer the particles, the more potentially harmful they are," he said. "They go deeper into your lungs and stay longer. These can cause the usual respiratory problems, such as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder. Ozone also causes respiratory problems, as it attacks and irritates the lungs."

Though Akron's air is quite clean, Malcom said a standard is a standard, and the city is still working toward improvement. ARAQMD works to improve Akron's air quality by enforcing EPA regulations. It assists local factories in writing contracts that specify what they can emit into the atmosphere, and perform inspections and tests to ensure factories are maintaining these standards. It also responds to complaints and handles asbestos abatement, including buildings to be demolished.

The 2002 Clear Skies Initiative is a modification of the 1970 Clean Air Act aimed at cleaning American air in a more efficient manner. In 2000, the EPA called for a 90 percent cut in mercury by 2008 for coal-burning power plants. These plants annually put out around 50 tons of mercury, and the plan would reduce the amount to just 5 tons. This is less than the 7.5 tons per year recommended by the Clean Air Act. Some environmentalists think this will have a detrimental effect, and increase the amount of toxic metals in the air in some states.

Malcom explained his view on the Clear Skies Initiative in general.

"This makes some people unhappy because the current reduction is less than what the Clean Air Act would have required, but it's still a reduction," he said. "I don't agree with the [Clear Skies Initiative's] plans in some areas. It has some good and some bad. I think it gave up on some things in the Clean Air Act that weaken it. On the whole, it's just not as good as it could have been."

Water Quality

A petroleum leak caused the Cuyahoga River to catch on fire in 1969. It was an event that instantly made the area's water supply infamous and caused Time magazine to comment that the river doesn't flow, it "oozes."

The fire prompted state and national pollution-control reforms like the Clean Water Act in an attempt to rid Ohio's water of its bad reputation. Unfortunately, 25 years later the river was still having problems and the Ohio Department of Health warned against eating any fish caught in the Cuyahoga River because of contamination.

The advisory stated that while the fish population in the river has gone up, most of the species are resistant to pollution. It was noted that the pollution could have come from any number of sources, including emissions from communities and industry, bank erosion, sewer overflows and hazardous waste.

Akron and the surrounding areas produce about 25 billion gallons of wastewater every year. It is sent to sanitation plants to be processed and released back into the environment. Residents of Cuyahoga Falls, Stow, Springfield, Mogadore, Lakemore, Tallmadge, Fairlawn, Bath and Montrose all count on Akron to dispose of their water and trust that it will be properly treated and that contamination won't be dumped back into the river or reservoir.

In 2002, Ohio's sewage treatment plants ranked behind only Pennsylvania, New York and Texas in the number of violations to the Clean Water Act, according to a national study, "How Polluters are Flooding America's Waterways with Toxic Chemicals." Christopher Jones, Director the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, didn't think the study was practical.

"The study was disappointing and unfair," he said, explaining that Ohio tries to keep the number of violations to zero, but that it is unrealistic.

Not only does Akron dispose wastewater for many neighboring regions, but it also pumps freshwater to these places. This means that Akron's problems with contamination are the whole area's problems.

The Web site of the Water Pollution Control Division in Akron explains how the solid waste removed from wastewater goes through a series of treatments. The many steps involve mixing, thickening and holding tanks before the waste is pumped right under the Cuyahoga River to Akron's Composting Facility, where it is dehydrated and sold for $3 a bag.

This is an unsettling thought, since the sources of Akron's freshwater are reservoirs in the northern sections of the Cuyahoga River. If there were to be a leak, water polluted with solid human waste could be flowing from faucets in Fairlawn, Stow, Tallmadge and Mogadore and some parts of Copley, Bath, Coventry and Cuyahoga Falls, all supplied by the river.

A study released two years ago by the Environmental Working Group and the U.S. Public Interest Research Group that five Ohio cities, including Akron and Barberton, where drinking water contained by-products linked to birth defects, miscarriages and certain forms of cancer.

However, Akron City Council released a statement the very next day saying the water was completely safe. The manager of Akron's Public Utilities Bureau said the chlorine reading that was the basis for the study was taken when the plant was undergoing a $10.1 million upgrade. The system had been filled with chlorine to disinfect it. He said when the improvements were complete, the amount of chlorine was greatly decreased.

The Cuyahoga River, where these problems are occurring, empties into Lake Erie. The pollution of just one river in Northeastern Ohio could cause contamination of one of the largest sources of freshwater in the country--the Great Lakes. But reforms are being made.

Just a few months ago, Sen. George Voinovich, R-Ohio, laid out plans for a Water Infrastructure Act that would give money to states to make improvements on water systems. Voinovich also lobbied to continue the ban on drilling for oil and gas in the Great Lakes.

The U.S. EPA's Web site lists ways residents can help reduce pollution, including keeping pet waste, litter and leaves out of street gutters or drains and properly disposing of antifreeze and grease rather than pouring it down the sewer. Those drains lead to lakes and rivers, so McDonald's wrappers and used motor oil will be shot out into ponds somewhere.

The Water Pollution Control Division states that they are "people dedicated to protecting the environment, for this and future generations, through innovative and cost effective means." If they continue to work by that message and people like Voinovich take steps to ensure fresh water for future citizens of Akron, and the people do their part, the city may be able to turn things around and be known for clean drinking water and healthy residents rather than a sludge-filled river.