Alliance says Springfieldians exposed to second-hand smoke

A local community health coalition said Tuesday that Springfield residents face significant danger from secondhand smoke in area bars, restaurants and entertainment venues.

The One Air Alliance, which touts itself as a grass-roots community organization, took anonymous air samples in 12 area venues in December 2009 and February and March 2010, and commissioned the University of Missouri’s School of Medicine and Campus-Community Alliances for Smoke-Free Environments to analyze the samples.

The results: Smoking venues contained 10 times more air pollution than nonsmoking venues, despite the fact that only 5 percent of patrons were smoking. The study also said that workers in smoking venues exceeded the Environmental Protection Agency's safe limit for exposure to particulate matter air pollution by 250 percent.

"What we face in our country, our state and in Springfield is a public health crisis,” said Carrie Reynolds, alliance co-chairwoman, in a news release. “Nearly 50,000 nonsmokers die in the U.S. each year from heart disease and cancer that can be directly linked to secondhand smoke. We have a moral obligation to protect people from what we know causes harm."

According to the organization's Web site, One Air Alliance is "exploring opportunities to further protect the Springfield community from exposure to secondhand smoke in public facilities, including all workplaces," by meeting with business and government leaders to gather feedback.