Atlanta matches last year's bad air days and smog season isn't over
亚特兰大的空气污染天数已赶上去年，而 烟雾的日子 还没有结束

The ozone that spread across Atlanta again Wednesday pushed the metro area over the threshold for another violation of federal clean air standards.
星期三，刺鼻的空气又一次笼罩亚特兰大，使得整个市区的空气污染值超出了联邦
的纯净空气标准。
Atlanta has now had 14 official bad air days this year -- the same number seen in all of 2009. And the smog season continues through September, meaning more could be on the way.
今年，亚特兰大已经持有14天的空气污染官方记录，是2009年的全年记录。而烟雾
的天气将在九月份继续持续，这意味着将突破去年的记录。
"We've got another couple months of hot weather ahead of us, it's a safe bet," said Kevin Green, the executive director of the Clean Air Campaign. "So we're not out of the woods yet."
空气净化组织的执行主席Kevin Green认为:"毫无疑问，炎热的天气还将持续数月，
所以情况不容乐观"
Ozone is cooked  from tailpipe emissions and volatile organic compounds
emitted from vegetation and other sources. The key ingredient, heat and
light, has been abundant this summer.
刺鼻的空气犹如烹饪所生成，有车辆的尾气，植物所挥发的有机气体等等。今年夏
天的高温和光照是主要的合成因素。
That has left those with asthma, bronchitis and sensitive lungs suffering
from shortness of breath, coughing fits and wheezing, said Dr. Stanley Fineman
of the Atlanta Allergy & Asthma Clinic.
亚特兰大过敏与哮喘诊所的Stanley Fineman医生说:污染的空气使患有哮喘，支气
管炎，肺部过敏的患者引起咳嗽，呼吸局促。
"The patients who have lung problems clearly have had more difficulty this summer," he said.
他还说道:今年夏天，肺部有问题的患者明显感到不舒服。
The discomfort is compounded by the early onset of ragweed season, he said. Normally, the pollen count is below five this time of year, but it was at 14 Wednesday and seven Thursday, according to the clinic.
根据该诊所提供的资料表明:这一次的问题与今年早期的花粉季节不无关系，通常情
况下，每年的这个时候，花粉的测量值低于5，但是星期三的测量值是14，星期四的
是7。
The best thing people can do if they are susceptible to either irritant,
Fineman said, is to stay indoors and breathe air that's been run through
an air conditioner.
Fineman 医生认为:对于会受过敏刺激的人们，最好就是呆在家里呼吸空调的空气。

Atlanta will likely exceed last year's number of bad air days because the
forecast for Thursday was for another "Code Orange" violation. (The results of the official measurements will be released Friday.) The orange color code means the air was expected to be unhealthy for those with lung illnesses and for children, who are lower to the ground where ozone gathers and who have developing lungs.
亚特兰大空气污染日的天数将会超过去年，因为星期四的天气预报是橙色警告(官方
测量报告会在星期五公布)。橙色警告意味着空气对于那些肺部有疾病的人是不利于
健康的，并由于污染的空气接近地面，所以对于肺部在发育中的儿童也是不利的。

Despite the troubling results so far this summer, Atlanta's air is actually
much cleaner than it was a decade ago. Not only were there more violations in many years prior to 2009, but the standards have been raised since then, said Susan Zimmer-Dauphinee, an official involved in measuring air quality for the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.
但是参与测量的乔治亚环境保护部门的官员Zimmer-Dauphinee认为:
尽管本年夏季的空气浑浊，但是亚特兰大的空气于十年前相比，实际上更干净。这
不仅是因为2009年以前的许多年的多个指数不达标，而且在2009年以后的测试标准
也提高了。
"The big story is that the air quality is actually much better that it was
10 years ago," she said. "Even though we have been seeing some code oranges, those concentrations aren't as high as they were in years past."
她说:从大的方面来说，虽然我们还是常常有橙色警告，但是实际上的空气质量是远
远优于十年前，空气中的微粒没有以往几年密集。
Credit things like low sulfur gasoline and those rubber gaskets at the fuel pump that prevent volatile organic compounds from leaking into the air, she said.
如低硫磺的汽油，加油站油泵的橡皮挡圈等等改进的因素，都降低了挥发性有机物
向空气的散发。
The federal government is expected to tighten the standard again at the
end of August, meaning lower levels of pollution would result in violations in the future. If Atlanta can't keep on top of the problem, Zimmer-Dauphinee said, the feds may impose new mandates such as those already in place in California where there are restrictions on the use of things such as lighter fluid for barbecue grills.
今年八月底，有望联邦政府进一步收紧标准，这意味着将来低度的污染还会引起超
标。Zimmer-Dauphinee说；如果亚特兰大还是不能解决问题，联邦将采取新的措施，就如在加利福尼亚已经在执行的那样，禁止使用轻型燃油的烧烤设备。
What can people do? Basically, figure out how to drive less, said Green,
of the Clean Air Campaign. That means carpool, ride a bike or bus and plan trips more carefully to get more done on each one.
人们还有什么可以做的?空气净化组织的 Green认为:研究怎么样少开车，如拼车，
骑自行车，坐公共汽车，一次出门办尽可能多的事情。
"I think we should be concerned when we have violations of any of the standards," he said, "because breathing is not optional."
他说:我认为不管我们在哪一方面超标，我们就要关注了。因为呼吸不是可有可无的。