Air Quality at USC and Claremont Colleges

My child has asthma and I’m concerned about air quality. How is the air quality on campuses of USC and Claremont Colleges?

In terms of ozone pollution, USC and the Claremont colleges appear to be within the worst of the country’s major metropolitan regions. However, US air quality standards seem to be reasonably strict, so worst may not necessarily mean untenable, even for a student with asthma.

You may find it helpful to reach out to the student health center on either campus to ask about this.

USC and the Claremont colleges are in the valley where the smog settles. It’s better on some days than others but a lot of people live there. I’m sure you would survive even with asthma

The air quality has substantially improved in the LA basin over the past 30-40 years, with increasingly strict emission controls on automobiles and on stationary sources in the region. See this article: http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-obama-smog-20150803-htmlstory.html

USC is in downtown LA area, not the valley where Claremont is located.
But the whole LA basin and adjacent valley areas are immeasurably better smog-wise than they were 30-40 years ago. Calif has had the strictest air pollution standards for cars for years and it has made all the difference in the world.
We were just in Pasadena 2 weeks ago and while it was hot, it was NOT smoggy at all.

Like a few others, I remember what the air around LA was like 30-40 years ago. When you flew into an LA area airport you’d descend into a grayish-brown layer of smog. Now when I go down there I’m struck by how clean the air is.

I was in Orange County two years ago coming down the CA73 toll road and heading north into the LA basin. That brown-grayish layer in the distance was very evident from the view in the hills. Being at ground level you often times are fooled into thinking that the air is cleaner than it actually is.

Please note: This article is 3 years old…

http://discovermagazine.com/2013/julyaug/19-californias-air-pollution-causes-asthma-allergies-and-premature-births

@HImom she’d probably know the answer to this

My kids went to USC. Both have asthma and allergies. In general, their asthma and allergies were much better in LA/USC than in suburban Hilonolulu, HI. Even with the forest fires and cars, they rarely ever needed their inhalers in LA.

A lot of the info in the Discover article cited above #8 comes from the Children’s Health Study, conducted at USC in the mid 90s. A followup to that study (results published in 2015) confirm that air quality has continued to improve, and that the lung function of children was improved over the previous study. The bottom line is that air quality in the LA basin is significantly better now. There is still air pollution in the area, though. Since asthma may be triggered by a variety of means, the OP can’t really know how his/her child’s asthma will react to the air at USC or the Claremonts unless they visit, as indicated in #10 above.

You just made that “fact” up, didn’t you?

It’s probably not the most scientific way, but I judge the air quality in LA by how well I can see the mountains.

^Can you always see the mountains on a cloudy day? I’ve been to LA many times. Smog is much more evident from higher elevations looking down, but you already knew that…

“A lot of the info in the Discover article cited above #8 comes from the Children’s Health Study, conducted at USC in the mid 90s. A followup to that study (results published in 2015) confirm that air quality has continued to improve, and that the lung function of children was improved over the previous study. The bottom line is that air quality in the LA basin is significantly better now. There is still air pollution in the area, though. Since asthma may be triggered by a variety of means, the OP can’t really know how his/her child’s asthma will react to the air at USC or the Claremonts unless they visit, as indicated in #10 above.”

Good to hear that Miles. Thanks for the follow up.