The American Lung Association (ALA) has released its annual “State of the Air” report on the cleanest cities in the country. Furthermore, this study was based on the cleanest for ozone and short-term particle pollution. However, the cities with the best air quality in the country on those lists are not ranked in order. This is due to them all having the same scores.
Additionally, some of the cities on the list have made it to both the cleanest ozone and short-term pollution lists. Moreover, the American Lung Association ranked the cities with the cleanest for year-round particle pollution levels. Furthermore, the report also showed the areas with the worst toxic particle pollution. In fact it’s the worst the ALA has seen in the 25 years its been releasing the studies on the best air quality in the country.
Spike in Pollution Affects Air Quality
The spike in the pollution levels are most likely the result of climate change. Subsequently, the increase of wildfires have attributed to the rising pollution levels in the air. All of which affects the air quality in the country.
Currently, there is more than 131 million Americans living in places with unhealthy pollution levels in the air. Which means almost four in ten people in the country live where the air quality levels earned an F in ALA’s report.
“We’re seeing the most days and the ‘very unhealthy’ or ‘hazardous’ air quality level due to spikes in particle pollution,” Paul Billings, ALA’s senior vice president of public policy stated to USA TODAY.
Cities that made the Best, Cleanest Air Quality List in the Country
Despite the efforts being made to lessen the hold that pollution has on the country, only a select few made the best air quality lists. In the best “By Year Round Particle Pollution” list are:
- Urban Honolulu, Hawaii which was ranked number one.
- Coming in at number two is Casper, Wyoming.
- Ranked number three is Kahului-Wailuku-Lahaina, Hawaii.
- In the number four spot for best air quality in the country is Wilmington, North Carolina.
- Bangor, Maine came in at fifth places on the list.
Furthermore, the American Lung Association’s ranked 18 other cities in the year round list.
By Ozone List
The cities listed on the ozone list all tied in their air quality testing. A few of these areas are:
- Des Moines-Ames-West Des Moines, Iowa.
- Charlottesville, Virginia.
- Brunswick, Georgia.
- Bangor, Maine.
- Cleveland-Indianola, Mississippi.
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa.
- State College-DuBois, Pennsylvania.
- Scottsboro-Fort Payne, Alabama.
- Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
Additionally, there are several more places on the “By Ozone” list.
By Short-Term Particle Pollution List
The cities on this air quality list are:
- Champaign-Urbana, Illinois.
- Dayton-Springfield-Kettering, Ohio.
- Kokomo-Peru, Indiana.
- Lima-Van Wert-Celina, Ohio.
- Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa.
- Rockford-Freeport-Rochelle, Illinois.
Furthermore, the American Lung Association has listed several other places in this list as well.
Impacts of Pollution
“Despite a lot of progress on air pollution cleanup, we’re seeing the impacts of climate change, particularly wildfires, overwhelming a lot of cleanup, particularly with respect to these daily spikes of particle pollution,” stated Billings.
To conduct its research, the ALA used the fine particulate matter found in the air across the nation. Using daily and annual averages, along with ozone pollution regulated under the Clean Air Act, scientists were able to measure the air quality in each city.
Shockingly, the report showed almost two in every five American live in places that received a failing grade in at least one of the categories measured. Furthermore, there are almost 44 million individuals living in areas that failed in all of the air quality measures.
Those Effected the Most
Subsequently, those living in the worst air quality regions are largely people of color. Coincidentally, these are the groups who have higher rates of chronic health issues. Problems such as, heart disease, asthma, and diabetes. All of which make them more susceptible to air pollution.
Furthermore, the report showed constant and short-term particle pollution has contributed to ten of thousands deaths a year. Short-term pollution can trigger an asthma attack, while constant exposure can increase the risk of a stroke or heart attack. Additionally, the ALA described living in ozone polluted areas causes a “sunburn” to happen on the lungs.
By Sheena Robertson
Sources:
American Lung Association: Cleanest Cities
WABI 5: Bangor named among cities with the best air quality in the country
USA TODAY: Report: U.S. air pollution worst in 25 years as new environmental regulations finalized
Images by S. Robertson – Used With Permission
