STAMFORD — For New Englanders, spring is the reward for a long harsh winter. The first chance for many to get outdoors, feel the warm sun and breathe the fresh air.

But the air city resident's breathe this spring is in need of improvements, according to the American Lung Association's "State of the Air: 2008" report.

Fairfield County, along with five other state counties, received failing grades for its air quality, according to the report.

Fairfield County received an "F" for its high number of ozone days, having the most number of "orange" and "red" days last year in the state. In terms of high particle pollution days, only New Haven County was worse than Fairfield. Only New London County scored above F by recieving a D.

"Unfortunately, the study did not come as a surprise," said Evan Stepp, M.D., a pulmonary specialist at Stamford Hospital.

The failing grades are bad news for people who suffer from asthma, chronic bronchitis and emphysema, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, people who are considered to be at-risk by the report.

"On a day-to-day basis, high levels of pollutants in the air certainly can affect airway inflammation, particularly for asthmatics and people who have CPOD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)," Stepp said. "The most immediate affect is some people are going to have trouble breathing (on high particle pollution days)."

People who are more susceptible to air pollution should check air quality levels on a daily basis, Stepp said, and avoid going outside unnecessarily when conditions are bad. He also suggested that, in some cases, people wear protective masks to filter the air while they breathe.

Stepp, who did his pulmonary training at Harvard University, said that while elevated levels of pollution affect everyone differently, there is no doubt it has long-term adverse health effects.

"There have been plenty of large scale studies that, in general, link pollution levels to disease," Stepp said. "(We have) statistically significant data that shows increases in heart attacks and other sorts of inflammatory diseases."

The American Lung Association's report also found that 31 percent of the country's population lives in an area with unhealthy levels of ozone; 81.4 million people live in areas with too many days of unhealthy spikes in particle pollution; one in six people live in an area with unhealthy year-round levels of particle pollution; and, roughly one in 10 people (30.4 million people) live in 18 counties with unhealthy levels of ozone and short-term and year-round particle pollution.

There are many things individuals can do to reduce pollution, Stepp said. He suggests people walk or bike, rather than drive, when they are able.

"On a grander scale, write your representatives and urge them to advocate for more changes on the local level," Stepp said.

The report itself calls for several key steps to improve the country's pollution problem, including protecting the Clean Air Act, cleaning up dirty, coal-fired power plants, cleaning up existing diesel equipment and requiring all ships calling on U.S. ports to use cleaner marine fuels and engines.

"Even if you don't notice anything different, exposure to high levels of pollutants and ozone is going to have long-term affects on everybody," Stepp said.