CHICAGO, April 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Lung
Association's 2019 "State of the Air" report finds that an
increasing number of Americans—more than 4 in 10—lived with
unhealthy air quality, placing their health and lives at risk. The
20th annual air quality "report card" found that 141.1
million people lived in counties with unhealthful levels of either
ozone or particle pollution, an increase of more than 7.2 million
Americans since the last annual report. Eight cities recorded their
highest number of days with unhealthy spikes in particle pollution
since the nation began monitoring this pollutant 20 years ago. And
the nation recorded more days with air quality considered
hazardous, when air quality reached "emergency
conditions"—Maroon on the air quality index—than ever
before.
"The 20th annual 'State of the Air' report shows
clear evidence of a disturbing trend in our air quality after years
of making progress: In many areas of the
United States, the air quality is worsening, at least in
part because of wildfires and weather patterns fueled by climate
change," said American Lung Association President and CEO
Harold Wimmer. "This increase in
unhealthy air is eye-opening, and points to the reality that the
nation must do more to protect the public from serious, even
life-threatening harm. There is no clearer sign that we are facing
new challenges than air pollution levels that have broken records
tracked for the past twenty years, and the fact that we had more
days than ever before when monitored air quality reached hazardous
levels for anyone to breathe."
The 2019 "State of the Air" report analyzed the three years with
the most recent quality-assured data collected by states, cities,
counties, tribes and federal agencies: 2015-2017. Notably, those
three years were the hottest recorded in global history. When it
comes to air quality, changing climate patterns fuel wildfires and
lead to worsened ozone pollution. This degraded air quality
threatens the health of Americans, especially those more vulnerable
such as children, older adults and those living with a lung
disease.
Each year, "State of the Air" reports on the two most widespread
outdoor air pollutants, ozone pollution and particle pollution.
Each is dangerous to public health and each can be lethal. The 2019
"State of the Air" report found that more than 20 million people
lived in counties that had unhealthy levels of air quality in all
categories.
Particle Pollution
Unhealthy particles in the air
result from many sources, including wildfires, wood-burning
devices, coal-fired power plants and diesel engines. Particle
pollution can be deadly. Technically known as PM2.5,
these microscopic particles lodge deep in the lungs and can enter
the bloodstream, triggering asthma attacks, heart attacks and
strokes, and can cause lung cancer.
The report has two grades for particle pollution: One for
"short-term" particle pollution, or daily spikes in the pollutant,
and one for the annual average or "year-round" level that
represents the concentration of particles day-in and day-out in
each location.
Short-Term Particle Pollution
More cities
experienced days when there were spikes in particle pollution, with
eight cities of the 25 most-polluted reaching their highest number
of such days in the report's 20-year history: Fairbanks, Alaska; Salinas, CA; Santa
Maria-Santa Barbara, CA;
Missoula, Montana; Bismarck, ND; Bend-Pineville, OR;
Spokane-Spokane Valley-Coeur d'Alene, WA-ID; and Yakima, Washington. Wildfires in 2017,
especially in Montana,
Washington and California, and woodsmoke from heating homes
contributed to many of these dangerous spikes. Bakersfield, CA, remained the #1 most polluted
city for short-term particle levels, as it has for eight of the
past 10 reports. Overall, daily spikes in particle pollution are
getting more frequent, and, in many cases, more severe, with four
days reaching hazardous, Maroon alert levels in 2017, the
highest number ever. Nationwide, more than 49.6 million people
suffered those episodes of unhealthy spikes in particle pollution
in the 76 counties where they lived.
Top 10 U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle
Pollution (24-hour PM2.5):
1.
|
Bakersfield,
California
|
7.
|
Los Angeles-Long
Beach, California
|
2.
|
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, California
|
8.
|
Salt Lake
City-Provo-Orem, Utah
|
3.
|
Fairbanks,
Alaska
|
9.
|
Seattle-Tacoma,
Washington
|
4.
|
San Jose-San
Francisco-Oakland, California
|
10.
|
Pittsburgh-New
Castle-Weirton, Pennsylvania-Ohio-West Virginia
|
5.
|
Missoula,
Montana
|
|
|
6.
|
Yakima,
Washington
|
|
|
Year-Round Particle Pollution
More than 20.5 million
people lived in counties with unhealthy levels of year-round
particle pollution, which is more than in the last two annual
"State of the Air" reports. Steps to clean up emissions that cause
particle pollution helped reduce some averages. Meanwhile, major
sources like agriculture, power plants and industrial sources still
emit too much particulate matter, and wildfires in the western U.S.
contributed to higher levels of particle pollution in several
cities. Fresno-Madera-Hanford,
CA, topped the list as most polluted by year-round particle
levels in this year's report, tying its previous record for the
highest level ever reached.
Top 10 U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle
Pollution (Annual PM2.5):
1.
|
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, California
|
7.
|
Pittsburgh-New
Castle-Weirton, Pennsylvania-Ohio-West Virginia
|
2.
|
Bakersfield,
California
|
8.
|
El Centro,
California
|
3.
|
Fairbanks,
Alaska
|
9.
|
Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio
|
4.
|
Visalia,
California
|
10.
|
Medford-Grants Pass,
Oregon
|
5.
|
Los Angeles-Long
Beach, California
|
|
|
6.
|
San Jose-San
Francisco-Oakland, California
|
|
|
Ozone Pollution
Ozone pollution, often referred to
as smog, harms lung health, essentially causing a sunburn of the
lung. Specifically, inhaling ozone pollution can cause shortness of
breath, trigger coughing and asthma attacks, and may shorten life.
Warmer temperatures make ozone more likely to form and harder to
clean up.
Significantly more people suffered unhealthy ozone pollution in
the 2019 report than in the last two "State of the Air" reports.
Approximately 134 million people lived where they experienced too
many high ozone days, the highest number of people exposed since
the 2016 report. This report shows the changing climate's impact on
air quality, as ozone pollution worsened during the global
record-breaking heat years tracked in the 2019 report.
Of the 10 most polluted cities for ozone, seven did worse than
in last year's report, including many of the nation's largest
metropolitan areas. Los Angeles's
air quality worsened, and it remains #1 for most ozone-polluted
city in the nation. Only Bakersfield, Fresno-Madera-Hanford and San
Jose-San
Francisco-Oakland had fewer
days with high ozone than in the 2018 report.
Top 10 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities:
1.
|
Los Angeles-Long
Beach, California
|
7.
|
Phoenix-Mesa,
Arizona
|
2.
|
Visalia,
California
|
8.
|
San Jose-San
Francisco-Oakland, California
|
3.
|
Bakersfield,
California
|
9.
|
Houston-The
Woodlands, Texas
|
4.
|
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, California
|
10.
|
New York-Newark, New
York–New Jersey-Connecticut-Pennsylvania
|
5.
|
Sacramento-Roseville,
California
|
|
|
6.
|
San Diego-Chula
Vista-Carlsbad, California
|
|
|
Cleanest Cities
The "State of the Air" also recognizes
the nation's cleanest cities, and just like last year's report,
only six cities qualified for that status. To rank as one of the
nation's cleanest cities, a city must experience no high ozone or
high particle pollution days and must rank among the 25 cities with
the lowest year-round particle pollution levels during
2015-2017.
Cleanest U.S. Cities (listed in alphabetical
order)
- Bangor, Maine
- Burlington-South Burlington, Vermont
- Honolulu, Hawaii
- Lincoln-Beatrice, Nebraska
- Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, Florida
- Wilmington, North
Carolina
"Every American deserves to breathe healthy air that won't make
them sick. The American Lung Association calls on the
Administration and Congress to protect and prioritize Americans'
health by taking urgent action to fight air pollution and address
climate change," Wimmer said.
Learn more about the 20th anniversary of the "State
of the Air" report at Lung.org/sota. For media interested in
speaking with an expert about lung health, healthy air, the health
impacts of climate change and threats to air quality in metro
regions nationwide, contact Allison
MacMunn at the American Lung Association at Media@Lung.org
or 312-801-7628.
About the American Lung Association
The American
Lung Association is the leading organization working to save
lives by improving lung health and
preventing lung disease, through research, education
and advocacy. The work of the American Lung Association
is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to
improve the air we breathe; to reduce the burden of lung disease on
individuals and their families; and to eliminate tobacco use and
tobacco-related diseases. For more information about the
American Lung Association, a
holder of the Better Business Bureau
Wise Giving Guide Seal, or to support the
work it does, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit:
Lung.org.
CONTACT: Allison MacMunn
| American Lung Association
P: 312-801-7628 E: Media@Lung.org
View original content to download
multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-4-in-10-americans-live-with-unhealthy-air-eight-cities-suffered-most-polluted-air-ever-recorded-300836902.html
SOURCE American Lung Association