The State of the Air Many Breathe Is a Sorry State
Where is that protection that I needed?
Air can hurt you too
Air can hurt you too
Some people say not to worry about the air
Some people never had experience with...
Air
(David Byrne/Talking Heads)
It's not just L.A. any more. Three out of every four Americans now breathe air so dirty it threatens the health of children, the elderly, and even outdoor joggers.
The American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report card for 2001 gave an F in air quality to nearly 400 U.S. counties -- a 15% increase since the previous report. And don't breathe a big sigh of relief if you don't live in a big city. Many of the regions that flunk healthy-air standards are medium and small metropolitan areas.
"It is of concern to us because a large percentage of the counties in the U.S. are experiencing unhealthy air," Norman H. Edelman, MD, tells WebMD. "There are things we can do about it, and we have to be ever vigilant. It is bad for everybody but especially bad for people with chronic lung disease and people with asthma." Edelman, dean of the SUNY-Stony Brook School of Medicine and vice president for the SUNY Health Science Center, serves as scientific consultant to the American Lung Association.
More than 141 million U.S. residents live in areas with unhealthy amounts of ozone in the air -- nine million more than last report. And that's only counting areas where ozone has been measured for at least three years. Nearly 60% of places where ozone is monitored get the failing grade. The 2002 report will be released May 1.
The grading system is based on the number of days an area has ozone levels that are unhealthy for sensitive people, unhealthy for all people, or very unhealthy for all people. A score of 3.3 is a failing grade -- but places on the 10-worst list are far worse:
The State of the Air Many Breathe Is a Sorry State
Where is that protection that I needed?
Air can hurt you too
Air can hurt you too
Some people say not to worry about the air
Some people never had experience with...
Air
(David Byrne/Talking Heads)
It's not just L.A. any more. Three out of every four Americans now breathe air so dirty it threatens the health of children, the elderly, and even outdoor joggers.
The American Lung Association's annual State of the Air report card for 2001 gave an F in air quality to nearly 400 U.S. counties -- a 15% increase since the previous report. And don't breathe a big sigh of relief if you don't live in a big city. Many of the regions that flunk healthy-air standards are medium and small metropolitan areas.
"It is of concern to us because a large percentage of the counties in the U.S. are experiencing unhealthy air," Norman H. Edelman, MD, tells WebMD. "There are things we can do about it, and we have to be ever vigilant. It is bad for everybody but especially bad for people with chronic lung disease and people with asthma." Edelman, dean of the SUNY-Stony Brook School of Medicine and vice president for the SUNY Health Science Center, serves as scientific consultant to the American Lung Association.
More than 141 million U.S. residents live in areas with unhealthy amounts of ozone in the air -- nine million more than last report. And that's only counting areas where ozone has been measured for at least three years. Nearly 60% of places where ozone is monitored get the failing grade. The 2002 report will be released May 1.
The grading system is based on the number of days an area has ozone levels that are unhealthy for sensitive people, unhealthy for all people, or very unhealthy for all people. A score of 3.3 is a failing grade -- but places on the 10-worst list are far worse:
- Los Angeles-Riverside-Orange County, Calif.
- Bakersfield, Calif.
- Fresno, Calif.
- Visalia-Tulare-Porterville, Calif.
- Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, Texas
- Atlanta, Ga.
- Washington, D.C.-Baltimore, Md.
- Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C.
- Knoxville, Tenn.
- Philadelphia-Wilmington-Atlantic City, Pa.-Del.-N.J. -- tied with Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill, N.C.
Source...