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Executive Summary
Air pollution levels improved in many parts of the nation during the years 2002-2004. Yet millions of Americans still face dangerous levels of air pollution. The American Lung Association State of the Air 2006 presents information on air pollution on a state-by-state, county-by-county basis, using the most up-to-date quality-assured data available for nationwide comparisons.
American Lung Association State of the Air 2006 provides a county-level report card on the two most pervasive air pollutants: ozone (smog) and particle pollution (soot). In addition, this year’s report shows that both pollutants remain a persistent threat across large parts of the United States. However, there are clear signs that controls placed on coal-fired power plants between 1998 and 2004 have already improved air quality in much of the eastern United States.
Looking at the nation as a whole, this report card finds:
Over half of the U.S. population lives in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution.
Over 150 million Americans live in 369 counties where they are exposed to unhealthful levels of air pollution in the form of either ozone or short-term or year-round levels of particles.
Nearly half the U.S. population—47 percent—lives in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone.
Counties that were graded F for ozone levels have a combined population of over 140.5 million. Almost half of all Americans live in counties where the air quality places them at risk for decreased lung function, respiratory infection, lung inflammation and aggravation of respiratory illness.
More than one in five people in the United States lives in an area with unhealthful short-term levels of particle pollution.
Over 64.3 million Americans live in areas where they are exposed to unhealthful short-term levels of particle pollution. Short-term, or acute, exposure to particle pollution has been shown to increase heart attacks, strokes and emergency-room visits for asthma and cardiovascular disease, and most importantly, increase the risk of death.
Nearly one in five people in the United States lives in an area with unhealthful year-round levels of particle pollution.
Some 53.1 million Americans suffer from chronic exposure to particle pollution. Even when levels are fairly low, exposure to particles over time can increase risk of hospitalization for asthma, damage to the lungs and, significantly, increase the risk of premature death.
About 42.5 million Americans—nearly 15 percent of the population—live in 34 counties with unhealthful levels of all three: ozone and shortterm and year-round particle pollution.
With the risks from airborne pollution so great, the American Lung Association seeks to inform people who may be in danger. Many groups are at greater risk because of their age or the presence of asthma or other chronic lung or cardiovascular disease or because they have diabetes. Those groups include:
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People with Asthma—Over 3 million children and over 8.5 million adults with asthma live in parts of the United States with very high levels of ozone. Over 3.9 million adults and 1.4 million children with asthma live in areas with high levels of short-term particle pollution. Over 3.2 million adults and nearly 1.2 million children with asthma live in counties with unhealthful levels of year-round particle pollution.
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Older and Younger—Over 16 million adults age 65 and over and approximately 36 million children age 18 and under live in counties with unhealthful ozone levels. Over 7.3 million seniors and over 16.7 million children live in counties with unhealthful short-term levels of particle pollution. Over 6 million seniors and nearly 13.9 million children live in counties with unhealthful levels of year-round particle pollution.
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Chronic Bronchitis and Emphysema—Over 4.3 million people with chronic bronchitis and nearly 1.7 million with emphysema live in counties with unhealthful ozone levels. Over 1.9 million people with chronic bronchitis and 763,000 with emphysema live in counties with unhealthful levels of short-term particle pollution. Over 1.6 million people with chronic bronchitis and over 627,000 with emphysema live in counties with unhealthful yearround levels of particle pollution.
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Cardiovascular Disease—Over 15.3 million people with cardiovascular diseases live in areas with unhealthful levels of short-term particle pollution; 12.7 million live in counties with unhealthful levels of year-round particle pollution. Cardiovascular diseases include heart disease, heart attacks and strokes.
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Diabetes—Over 3.2 million people with diabetes live in areas with unhealthful levels of short-term particle pollution; 2.7 million live in counties with unhealthful levels of year-round particle pollution. Research indicates that diabetics face increased risk due to particle pollution impact on their cardiovascular systems.
In addition to providing specific grades for each county with ozone and particle pollution monitors, the American Lung Association State of the Air 2006 also discusses key steps needed to improve the air we all breathe. Those steps include:
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Set much more protective limits on particle pollution in the air. Thousands of studies have documented that the current limits on particle pollution do not protect the health of the public “with an adequate margin of safety” as required by the Clean Air Act. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will decide in September, 2006 how much particle pollution will be permitted. That limit will become the goal all states must meet and will drive decisions on how to clean up particle pollution in each community. The American Lung Association recommends that EPA set those limits for daily, or 24-hour levels, of fine particles at 25 µg/m3 and for year-round levels at 12 µg/m3, counted at the 99th percentile.
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Protect the Clean Air Act. The American Lung Association is greatly concerned about threats to one of the most effective public health laws ever passed,
the Clean Air Act. Threats come from legislative proposals to roll back key provisions of the law and continued delays in taking action that the science tells us is needed to clean up air pollution. The American Lung Association has taken legal action to protect this valuable clean air tool, and encourages everyone to tell his or her members of Congress to protect the Clean Air Act.
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Clean up dirty power plants. Old, coal-fired power plants are among the biggest industrial contributors to unhealthful air, especially particle pollution in the eastern United States. The toll of death, disease and environmental destruction caused by coal-fired power plant pollution continues to mount. The EPA issued rules in 2005 that give states the tools to clean up these plants. However, the EPA has issued other rules that give the electric utility industry (and its power plants) huge loopholes in complying with the Clean Air Act. Those loopholes need to be removed.
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Clean up marine and locomotive diesel. In 2004, the EPA made a strong public commitment to propose protective emission standards for locomotive and marine diesel engines by the middle of 2005 and to take final action by the middle of 2006. As of April 28, 2006, EPA has failed to publish its proposal. In 2000, EPA finalized regulations to clean up highway diesel trucks, buses and diesel fuel. This regulation was followed, in 2004, by new rules to clean up heavy equipment and construction and agricultural diesel engines and their fuel. This rulemaking also cleaned up the diesel fuel for locomotive and marine diesel engines. However, EPA postponed new emission standards for locomotives and marine sources, leaving a large diesel loophole. EPA needs to follow through on its commitment to clean up marine and locomotive diesel.
Individual citizens can do a great deal to help reduce air pollution outdoors as well. Simple, but effective ways include:
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Drive less. Combine trips, walk, bike, carpool or vanpool, and use buses, subways or other alternatives to driving. Vehicle emissions are a major source of air pollution. Support community plans that provide ways to get around that don’t require a car, such as more sidewalks, bike trails and transit systems.
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Don’t burn wood or trash. Burning firewood and trash are among the largest sources of particles in many parts of the country. If you must use a fireplace or stove for heat, convert your woodstoves to natural gas, which has far fewer polluting emissions. Compost and recycle as much as possible and dispose of other waste properly; don’t burn it. Support efforts in your community to ban outdoor burning of construction and yard wastes.
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Get involved. Participate in your community’s review of its air pollution plans and support state and local efforts to clean up air pollution.
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Use less electricity. Turn out the lights and use energy-efficient appliances.
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Send a message to decision makers. Send an email or fax to urge your member of Congress to protect the Clean Air Act. Log on at www.lungusa.org to see how easy that can be.
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