Lung Association Issues State of the Air Report
Related: Air Pollution, Lung Association, Rankings, State of the Air
The American Lung Association has issued its annual air pollution report card which ranks the cities most affected by air pollution. This is the ninth consecutive State of the Air report issued by the organization.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania has the unfortunate distinction of becoming the first city outside of California to top one of the most polluted lists. Other cities that fared poorly and moved closer to the top of the list include San Diego, Atlanta, Charlotte and the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. metro area. Los Angeles has cleaned up its act slightly but still remains ranked atop two of the three most-polluted lists.
Top Ten U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution:
- Pittsburgh, Pa
- Los Angeles/Long Beach/Riverside, California
- Fresno/Madera, California
- Bakersfield, California
- Birmingham, Ala.
- Logan, Utah
- Salt Lake City, Utah
- Sacramento, California
- Detroit, Michigan
- Baltimore, Md./Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia
Top Ten U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution:
- Los Angeles/Long Beach/Riverside, California
- Pittsburgh, Pa
- Bakersfield, California
- Birmingham, Ala.
- Visalia/Porterville, California
- Atlanta, Ga.
- Cincinnati, Ohio
- Fresno/Madera, California
- Hanford/Corcoran, California
- Detroit, Mich.
Top Ten U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Ozone:
- Los Angeles/Long Beach/Riverside, California
- Bakersfield, California
- Visalia/Porterville, California
- Houston, Texas
- Fresno/Madera, California
- Sacramento, California
- Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
- New York, N.Y./Newark, N.J.
- Baltimore, Md./Washington, D.C./Northern Virginia
- Baton Rouge, La.
National trends show declines in ozone and particle pollution have stalled.
“The air quality in several cities has improved, but in others, declines in pollution have stalled. The trends tell us loud and clear that we need to do more to protect Americans from breathing air that’s simply hazardous to their health,” said Bernadette Toomey, President and Chief Executive Officer, American Lung Association. “We applaud the aggressive efforts of Los Angeles to control particle pollution. It’s proof that making a commitment to clean up pays off.”
According to the report, one in 10 people in the U.S. live in areas with unhealthful levels of all three types of pollution. I’m lucky in that I live in a place with plenty of clean air – my score card had all A’s. Unfortunately, many of us live in places that are polluted and don’t have a whole lot of choice in the matter. To see what grade your city’s air quality earned, visit stateoftheair.org. The website allows you to search by zip code or use the map to find the cleanest and most-polluted cities.
Reference:
stateoftheair.org
American Lung Association
Last Updated on May 1st, 2008
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