The 10 Most Polluted (and Cleanest) American Cities in 2012

State of the Air 2012 (179 page pdf, American Lung Association, May 2012)

Today we review the 2012 report from the American Lung Association which showed that many if not most cities are making progress in cleaning up their urban air quality, notably New York and Detroit which the list of most polluted cities. Looking at the cities with the highest levels of short term particulate pollution, it is striking how many are in California with 6 out of the ten worse in that state. The cleanest cities are less clustered in one state but many are on or near the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines. That said, over 40% of Americans live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone or particulate pollution and 30-45% live close (300-500m) to busy roads.

   

Key Quotes:

 “Four cities moved to the list of the most polluted cities this year despite having improved annual particle average levels”

• ”Nearly one in six (16.1%) of people in the United States live in an area with unhealthful short-term levels of particle pollution”
• ”People with Asthma—Nearly 2.5 million children and over 7.4 million adults with asthma live in parts of the United States with very high levels of ozone”

“25 US Cities Most Polluted by Short-term Particle Pollution(24 hour PM2.5)

1. Bakersfield-Delano – CA
2. Fresno-Madera – CA
3. Hanford-Corcoran- CA
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside-CA
5. Modesto- CA
6. Pittsburgh-New Castle-PA
7. Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield-UT
8. Logan- UT
9. Fairbanks-AK
10. Merced- CA

Cleanest US Cities for Short-term Particle Pollution!(24-hour PM2.5)

1. Albuquerque-NM
2. Alexandria-LA
3. Amarillo-TX
4. Asheville-Brevard-NC
5. Athens-Clarke County-GA
6. Atlantic City-Hammonton-NJ .
7. Austin-Round Rock-Marble Falls-TX
8. Bangor-ME
9. Baton Rouge-Pierre Part-LA
10. Beckley-Oak Hill-WV

Related articles

• America's Cities with the Cleanest Air (247wallst.com)
• Top 25 U.S. Cities With The Cleanest Air (huffingtonpost.com)
• 25 U.S Cities With The Cleanest Air (thebuzzcincy.com)
• 10 Worst American Cities for Air Pollution. (icountformyearth.wordpress.com)
• Top 10 Most Polluted Cities in the US (usgreenbrokers.com)
• 2012′s Top 10 Most Polluted US Cities (greenflbroker.com)
• Bay Area no longer among 25 most-polluted regions (sfgate.com)
• American Lung Association: Positive Air Quality Trends Continue, While Big Polluters and Congress Seek to Weaken Proven Clean Air Controls (yubanet.com)
• Childhood Asthma and Ambient Air Pollution (pollutionfreecities.blogspot.com)
• US air pollution hits 10-year low, report finds (csmonitor.com)
• When It Comes to Air Quality, Washington Gets a Big, Fat "F" (washingtonian.com)