Mecklenburg County once again ranks at the bottom of North Carolina counties when it comes to air quality, according to an annual air quality report from the American Lung Association.
The report gives Mecklenburg County an F grade for ozone pollution, based on the most recent verified data from 2015, 2016 and 2017. The report ranked the Charlotte-Concord metropolitan area 40th for high ozone days out of 228 metropolitan areas nationwide, and 78th out of 201 metropolitan areas for annual particle pollution. Ozone’s adverse impact on public health is well-documented, especially among vulnerable populations.
Mecklenburg was the only North Carolina county among those graded to receive an F - none other received lower than a C - and had triple the “ozone action days” of the next-worst county.
“North Carolina’s residents have enjoyed increasingly clean air in the nearly two decades since state lawmakers passed the landmark Clean Smokestacks Act. There’s one exception: Mecklenburg County, which continues to rank at the bottom in the American Lung Association’s annual report,” said Margaret Lillard, communications coordinator for the N.C. Chapter of the Sierra Club.
“The City of Charlotte recently committed to transitioning to a clean energy future. In addition to promoting the use of cleaner-running electric vehicles, it would help that goal and the region’s air quality for Duke Energy to retire the Allen Steam Station in neighboring Gaston County as soon as possible," Lillard said. "Replacing that 62-year-old coal-fired plant with clean energy sources would also save customers money on their electric bills.”