14 DAY TRIAL // According to a new report released by the American Lung Association this past Wednesday, about 50% of the people who now live in the United States are exposed to potentially dangerous levels of air pollution.
Specifically, specialists with the Association maintain that, according to evidence at hand, as many as 147.6 million people in this country currently live in areas where concentrations of smog and soot particles are elevated enough to make the air unhealthy.
In its “State of the Air” report, the American Lung Association explains that, in recent years, the United States has made some progress in terms of reducing particle pollution. However, it appears that the country still has a long way to go when it comes to improving on local air quality.
“The 15th annual national report card shows that while the nation overall continued to reduce particle pollution, a pollutant recently found to cause lung cancer, poor air quality remains a significant public health concern and a changing climate threatens to make it harder to protect human health.”
“Especially alarming is that levels of ozone (smog), a powerful respiratory irritant and the most widespread air pollutant, were much worse than in the previous year’s report,” the Association writes on its website.
As part of this latest investigation into air quality in the United States, specialists compiled and analyzed data concerning ozone and particle pollution documented in official monitoring sites across the country between the years 2010 and 2012.
In was thus discovered that, during this time span, over 4 in 10 people lived in areas where local levels of ozone were unhealthy. Besides, more than 46.2 million people were found to have been exposed to year-round unhealthful levels of particle pollution.
The Association says that, between 2010 and 2012, the three dirties cities by ozone concentrations were Los Angeles-Long Beach, CA; Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, CA; and Bakesville, CA. The dirtiest cities by year-round particle pollution were Fresno-Madera, CA; Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, CA; and Bakersfield, CA.
On its website, the American Lung Association warns that air pollution is a major threat to public health and explains that children, older adults, and people already suffering from various medical conditions are the ones most vulnerable to its effects. In light of the findings of its latest “State of the Air” report, the organization asks that high officials move to better regulate airborne pollutants.
“We know that warmer temperatures increase risk for ozone pollution, so climate change sets the stage for tougher challenges to protect human health,” Harold Wimmer, National President and CEO of the American Lung Association, said in a statement.
Furthermore, “We must meet these challenges head on to protect the health of millions of Americans living with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. All of us – everyone in every family – have the right to healthy air.”