By George P. Hassett

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week announced poor air quality conditions throughout Massachusetts and much of New England. But in some parts of Somerville, especially in neighborhoods close to the highway, poor air quality is a part of everyday life.

Wig Zamore, an environmental activist in the city, said poor air quality days such as the ones experienced recently are the result of elevated ozone levels. Combine that with daily conditions in neighborhoods such as East Somerville and you get “a double whammy” for neighborhood residents, he said.

Somerville has the highest number of excess deaths per square mile from heart attacks and lung cancer among Massachusetts’ 351 cities and towns. Experts attribute this to the presence of Interstate 93, Routes 28, 38, and 99, and 200 diesel train trips that go through the city each week.

Zamore said in a study of the Somerville neighborhoods closest to I-93, researchers found 10 times more ultra fine particles in the air than is considered acceptable or healthy. He said such high levels of ultra fine particles can cause asthma, lung cancer, emphysema and hardening of the arteries. Children are especially susceptible, he said.