Airborne Particles

* I was very interested in your thorough article on L.A.’s airborne grit and how it kills 6,000 people yearly (May 9). There was discussion of efforts by various government organizations, such as the EPA and the AQMD, to clean up the air, but overall the picture is not encouraging for those of us who would like to breathe air that isn’t toxic.

We can sit in a cloud of particulates on the 405 while waiting for the government to regulate us. We can choose to passively wait 20 years for the perfect pollution-free automobile (what’s 20 times 6,000 people?). I, for one, believe the future is here now. I drive an electric car to work every day from Seal Beach to Compton, a 40-mile round trip. Electric vehicles emit zero pollutants and no particulates.

KEVIN LAKKIS

Seal Beach