Increase in Michigan Asthma Rates Tied to Pollution

Asthma rates in Michigan have increased by 15% according to new numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with 9% of Michigan residents having asthma. Nearly half the cases are in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Livingston counties, all of which are among the 474 counties in 31 states that are under orders from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to cut ozone causing pollution because they fail to meet federal health risks for reducing smog. The EPA has also ordered the state to develop a plan to significantly reduce ozone levels by 2010 and develop a plan by September 2006 to reduce asthma aggrevating pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.