American Lung Association 2015 State of the Air Report - Key Findings
Nearly 138.5 million people—almost 44 percent of the nation—STILL live where pollution levels too often make the air too dangerous to breathe, but thanks to stronger standards for pollutants, the United States has seen continued reduction in ozone and particle pollution as well as other pollutants for decades.
Overall, the best progress came in the continued reduction of year-round particle pollution in the Eastern half of the nation, thanks to cleaner diesel fleets and cleaner fuels used in power plants.
Continued progress cleaning up pollution makes a difference, but a changing climate is making it harder to protect human health. The impact of climate change is particularly apparent in the West where the heat and drought create situations ripe for episodes of high particle days.
Many cities continued a decade of progress reducing ozone, but many others had more unhealthy air days. Communities will need more help to reduce ozone pollution in the warmer temperatures expected from the changing climate.
I’d tell you to take a deep breath before reading this, but after going through the American Lung Association’s (ALA) 2015 State of the Air Report, that may not be such a good an idea. Roughly 138.5 million Americans live in counties with dirty, polluted air that can be linked to a host of health issues like stroke, low birth weight, asthma and heart attacks, and even premature death.
ALA’s annual report is considered the gold standard in data procurement and analysis by seasoned doctors and medical experts, so its findings generally serve as a barometer on how well America is doing in cleaning up its air pollution. This year, as in other years, ALA found that our overall air quality is still pretty bad -- but we are seeing improvement in some areas of the country. For example, areas in the Eastern half of the country are shown to have done a pretty good job in cleaning up their act focusing on cleaner power plants and diesel fleets. Places like Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Pittsburgh are now a healthy distance from the report’s top 10 most smog-polluted cities.
Because of efforts in those communities, air pollution in the United States has been on a downward trend over the past 4 decades -- but a lot more work is required if we are serious about combating the ailments triggered by dirty air and holding polluters accountable for spewing their emissions into nearby communities. The report takes pains, after all, to highlight that 40.7 percent of the U.S. population still lives in counties that received the grade of “F” for their smog levels. In fact, the actual number of people breathing dirty air is likely much higher since many counties adjacent to urban areas sometimes do not have their own air monitors.
Air pollution can be sporadically swept up by the wind and transported to the unsuspecting counties located near our sprawling cities. When this happens, these neighboring counties are exposed to the same harmful air that causes red alert days in metropolitan areas, but without the same level of access to the tools and information that warn urban residents to avoid breathing the air outside. This puts large populations of people at unnecessary risk.
The report showed that metropolitan areas themselves suffered fewer severe smog pollution days when measured against last years report, but just as many of the most polluted cities suffered more of these days. 13 of the 25 most smog polluted cities had fewer high ozone days on average in 2011-2013 (the date range for this year’s report) when compared with 2010-2012 (the range for last year’s report). On the other hand, 12 cities fared worse, suffering more high ozone days on average while only one remained the same.
This mixed bag, however, shouldn’t inspire a malaise, but a rush to action to guard against what will happen if things stay the same. Remember, climate disruption is quickly making the places most prone to smog pollution, like Southern California, dryer and warmer. Mix these conditions with the emissions that come from burning fossil fuels (like coal plants and tailpipes) and you’ve created a frighteningly perfect context for record-breaking smog pollution in massive cities like Los Angeles, Houston, and Las Vegas. As climate disruption accelerates, air pollution in places like these will become more frequent and pronounced, and time is running out to actually do something about it before things get even more out of hand.
Luckily, the EPA is preparing to finalize stronger smog pollution protections in October, which has galvanized medical scientists and doctors from major public health organizations - including the American Lung Association, the American Thoracic Society, the American Heart Association, the American Public Health Association and the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America - to redouble their efforts in calling for protections to be set at 60 parts per billion (ppb), the most protective standard possible.
We applaud their efforts and are keeping our own drum beat going by relaunching our text alert product that will warn mobile phone users if dangerous air pollution is anywhere in a 50 mile radius, as well as participating in events for World Asthma Day and Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month to draw attention to prevention strategies. Exposure prevention, however, can only go so far. We agree with medical scientists that there must be a concrete mechanism that can stop the creation of dangerous levels of smog in the first place, and the EPA’s power to implement strong smog protections created under the Clean Air Act would be perfect for that.
A decision from the Administration to set EPA smog protections at 60 ppb would empower states to set strong limits on air pollution and better inform the public on what doctors and medical experts believe to be harmful levels of exposure. Its the Administration that has a real chance to make ALA’s future reports a cause for celebration, instead of depressing blog posts. Join me, and send EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and the White House a personalized message at sc.org/smog, to heed the warning of this year’s State of the Air report and set smog protections at 60 ppb this coming fall.