State of the Air 2014 ( American Lung Association)

 State of the Air 2014 | American Lung Association.

                    Sources of Pollution

 

From the Web site

The State of the Air 2014 shows that the nation’s air quality worsened in 2010-2012, but remains overall much cleaner than just a decade ago.
More than 147.6 million people—47 percent of the nation—live where pollution levels are too often dangerous to breathe, an increase from last year’s report.
Despite that risk, some seek to weaken the Clean Air Act, the public health law that has driven the cuts in pollution since 1970.

Web site includes the following

• Options to
  • Search air quality by zip code (for “grades”)
    and state (for “report cards”)
  • Compare your air
    
• Health Effects of Ozone and Particle Pollution
• Key Findings
  • Ozone Pollution — More than 4 in 10 people lived in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone in 2010-2012. See which cities with the worst ozone had even more unhealthy air days.
  • Year-round Particle Pollution — More than 46.2 million people live in an area burdened year-round by unhealthful levels of deadly particle pollution. See which cities saw continued progress in cleaning up sources and which suffered even more pollution.
  • Short-term Particle Pollution — Many cities endured more days where particle pollution spiked during this period. Fourteen percent (14%) of people in the United States live where they suffered too many days with unhealthful levels of particle pollution.
  • Cleanest Cities — Only four cities made the cleanest list in all three categories, but several were among the cleanest in two.
  • People at Risk — Nearly half of the people in the U.S. live in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution. Learn more about people who face the greatest risk—probably someone you know is one of them.
  • What Needs to be Done to Get Healthy Air— What do we need to do as a nation? How can you help clean up the air?

 

Related articles

• Nearly half of Americans live in areas with heavily polluted air
• Hard to Breathe: Top 10 Polluted U.S. Cities.
• 147 Million Americans Breath Unhealthy, Polluted Air. Los Angeles Is Worse Off
• Climate change will give you heart and lung disease
• Scoping out a plan for cleaner air in California
• Do you know your state air pollution level?

State of the Air (report and findings by geographic area) by the American Lung Association.

For 14 years, the American Lung Association has analyzed data from air quality monitors to compile the State of the Air report. The more you learn about the air you breathe, the more you can protect your health and take steps to make our air cleaner and healthier.

Want to know what the air quality is where you live or another US location?
Just enter the zipcode at the home page.

Excerpts from the key findings page

Thanks to the Clean Air Act, the United States continues to make progress providing healthier air. The “State of the Air 2013” shows that the nation’s air quality is overall much cleaner, especially compared to just a decade ago. Still, over 131.8 million people—42 percent of the nation—live where pollution levels are too often dangerous to breathe. Despite that risk, some seek to weaken the Clean Air Act, the public health law that has driven the cuts in pollution since 1970.

Ozone Pollution — Nearly 4 in 10 people lived in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone in 2009-2011.

Year-round Particle Pollution — More than 44.3 million people live in an area burdened year-round by unhealthful levels of deadly particle pollution.

Short-term Particle Pollution — Many cities endured more days where particle pollution spiked during this period. Fifteen percent (15%) of people in the United States live where they suffered too many days with unhealthful levels of particle pollution.

Cleanest Cities — Only four cities made the cleanest list in all three categories, but several were among the cleanest in two.

People at Risk —More than 4 in 10 people live in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution. Learn more about people who face the greatest risk—probably someone you know is one of them.

What Needs to be Done to Get Healthy Air —What do we need to do as a nation? How can you help clean up the air?

Related articles

• Agency to start monitoring pollution next to Southern California freeways (sacbee.com)
• Air pollution ‘an invisible killer’ (bbc.co.uk)
• Hot weather in Europe exacerbating ozone pollution (independent.com.mt)
• Nitrogen pollution: another of Lebanon’s blights (dailystar.com.lb)
• Boralpure Smog-Eating Tile (iitbuildingscience.wordpress.com)
• Wildfire smoke spreads in Valley, sparks health concerns (fresnobee.com)
• Respiratory Disparity? Obese People May Not Benefit from Improved Air Quality (ehp.niehs.nih.gov)
• American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic Warns of Increased Pollution as Temperature Soars (paramuspost.com)
• Protect Yourself from Outdoor Air Pollution by Checking the Air Quality Index (virtual-strategy.com)
• The Macroeconomic Effect of the Clean Air Act; how it incentivized development in clean air technologies. (coherentramblingsforcoherentminds.wordpress.com)

Mortality And Morbidity Could Be Significantly Reduced By Lowering The National Ozone Standard

http://www.epa.gov/airquality/greenbook/map8hrnm.html

[Green Book of Nonattainment areas for Criteria Pollutants, EPA, March 2012]

From the 19th July 2012 article at Medical News Today

Establishing a more stringent ozone standard in the U.S. would significantly reduce ozone-related premature mortality and morbidity, according to a new study published online in the journalEnvironmental Health Perspectives.

“Abundant evidence links exposure to ozone with adverse health effects, including impaired pulmonary function, asthmaexacerbations, increased hospital and emergency room visits, and increased mortality, yet the current National Ambient Air Quality Standard of 75ppb is often exceeded,” said lead author Jesse Berman, a PhD candidate at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. “Our study shows that adhering to the current standard would result in a significant reduction in morbidity and mortality and, furthermore, that applying even more stringent ozone standards would result in even greater reductions.” ..

Related articles

• Lowering the national ozone standard would significantly reduce mortality and morbidity (phys.org)
• Ozone spikes unusually high. Officials ponder why. (blogs.courier-journal.com)
• Community Response Urged Amid High Ozone Levels (kake.com)
• Wichita ozone levels top allowable limit (kansas.com)
• Large Eruptions Could Eat Away at Ozone Layer (sott.net)
• More ozone violations (blogs.courier-journal.com)