Seven months and one election day later, a new conservative city council suspended enforcement of the clean air zone, a first step toward its possible demise.
The air sampled from the South Pole's clean air sector (a zone where air traffic, land vehicles, and even foot traffic is strictly limited) is touted as the cleanest air on Earth.
In refugee camps on the periphery of the disaster zone, tent areas appear clean and orderly, with adequate supplies of food and clean water. There have been no reports of serious outbreaks of disease.