Pendleton County, KY A report released today confirms that Pendleton County’s indoor air in workplaces contains high levels of fine particle air pollution from secondhand smoke. Indoor air quality was assessed in five Pendleton County workplaces that allow smoking. During the sampling period, the level of fine particle air pollution was more than three times higher in Pendleton County than the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for outdoor air.
Secondhand smoke is a mixture of the smoke from the burning end of tobacco products (sidestream smoke) and the smoke exhaled by smokers (mainstream smoke) and is known to cause heart disease, stroke, and cancer in humans. According to the Surgeon General’s 2006 and 2010 reports, there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemical compounds and 69 of these are known to cause cancer. Secondhand smoke is the third leading cause of preventable death in the nation.
Currently, in Kentucky, 57 communities have enacted smoke-free laws. The most comprehensive measures require indoor public places and workplaces to be 100 percent smoke-free. Kentucky communities that have implemented these types of measures include Ashland, Bardstown, Beattyville, Berea, Bowling Green, Campbellsville, Clarkson, Corbin, Danville, Dayton, Elizabethtown, Georgetown, Glasgow, Hardin County, Hazard, La Grange, Lexington-Fayette County, London, Louisville, Manchester, Martin, Middlesboro, Midway, Morehead, Murray, Oldham County, Owsley County, Paducah, Perry County, Perryville, Prestonsburg, Radcliff, Richmond, Salyersville, Somerset, Stanford, Versailles, Williamsburg, Williamstown, and Woodford County. Ordinances that are moderate in strength, 100 percent smoke-free indoor public places, have been implemented in Frankfort, Leitchfield, and Letcher County.
The key findings of this report show the following:
•Pendleton County levels of indoor air pollution from secondhand smoke are 6.3 times higher than Georgetown and seven times higher than Lexington after implementation of their comprehensive smoke-free ordinances. Further, the level of indoor air pollution in Pendleton County workplaces was 3.6 times higher than the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for outdoor air.
The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing in partnership with volunteers in Pendleton County. The study was funded by the Pendleton County Champions.
For more information and to see a copy of the report, go to http://www.uky.edu/breathe/tobacco-policy/air-quality-monitoring