Cleveland-Akron-Canton Rank As Cities With the 11th Most Polluted Air

CLEVELAND, OH - Cleveland, Akron and Canton are tied for the 11th spot on the American Lung Association's (ALA) cities with the most year-round particle pollution, which can make the air we breathe dangerous for at-risk populations. The ALA released the findings in its State of the Air 2016 report in April.

Particle pollution is made of soot or tiny particles that come from coal-fired power plants, diesel emissions, wildfires and wood-burning devices. These particles are so small they can lodge deep in the lungs and trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes, and can even be lethal, according to Shelly Kiser, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Ohio.

In the report, Cuyahoga County was given a performance grade of 'D' in the category of particle pollution. The county failed the annual grade and had 7 orange days, meaning days that were unhealthy for sensitive people to be outside, on record. The county was also given a performance grade of 'F' in the category of ozone pollution, recording 30 orange days and 8 red days, meaning it was unhealthy for any population to be outside. The county ranked as the 27th most polluted in terms of ozone pollution.

Those grades are particularly alarming because of the large population of at-risk individuals residing in Cuyahoga. According to ALA estimates, there are roughly 1,259,828 residents of the county. Of those, 28,258 suffer from pediatric asthma and 107,221 suffer from adult asthma. There are also 82,026 residents afflicted with chronic obstructed pulmonary disease and 101,553 with cardiovascular disease.

You can check your county's grades here.

According to the 2016 State of the Air report from ALA, Cleveland actually had its best year to date in terms of year-round particle pollution, but the city still ranked as the eleventh worst in the nation. However, the Cleveland, Akron and Canton areas also scored extremely well on the short term particle pollution metric, ranking as some of the cleaner cities in America.

"In spite of improvements, the 2016 'State of the Air' report still finds unhealthful levels of both particle pollution and ozone in the Cleveland-Akron-Canton area, putting our local citizens at risk for premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks and cardiovascular harm, said Kiser. "Across the nation, the report found continued improvement in air quality, but more than half of the people in the United States live in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution."

The ten worst cities in terms of ozone pollution were:

1. Los Angeles, California
2. Bakersfield, California
3. Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, California
4. Fresno-Madera, California
5. Phoenix-Mesa-Scotsdale, Arizona
6. Sacramento-Roseville, California
7. Modesto-Merced, California
8. Denver-Aurora, Colorado
9. Las Vegas, Nevada and Henderson, Arizona
10. Fort Collins, Colorado

The ten worst cities in terms of year round particle pollution were:

1. Bakersfield, California
2. Visalie-Porterville-Hanford, California
3. Fresno-Madera, California
4. Los Angeles-Long Beach, California
5. El Centro, California
6. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, California
7. Modest-Merced, California
8. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and New Castle, Ohio and Weirton, West Virginia
9. Harrisburg-York-Lebanon, Pennsylvania
10. Louisville-Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Madison, Kentucky and Indian
11. Cleveland-Akron-Canton, Ohio

The ten worst cities in terms of short-term particle pollution were:

1. Bakersfield, California
2. Fresno-Madera, California
3. Visalia-Porterville-Hanford, California
4. Modest-Merced, California
5. Fairbanks, Alaska
6. Salt Lake City-Provo-Orem, Utah
7. Logan, Utah and Idaho
8. San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, California
9. Los Angeles-Long Beach, California
10. Missoula, Montana

To determine the pollution levels, the ALA examined the levels of ozone and particle pollution at monitoring sites across the United States. The organization used data from 2012, 2013 and 2014.

According to the report,

The best progress continues to be in reduced year-round particle pollution levels. Seventeen of the cities with the highest levels of year-round particles reduced their levels over the previous report. Sixteen of these had their lowest levels ever. Using the most current data calculated by EPA, only 12 of these 25 cities failed to meet the national air quality standards for annual particle pollution.

Nearly 166 million people, more than half the nation, live where they are exposed to potentially dangerous pollution levels. In the 2015 State of the Air Report, 138.5 million Americans were exposed to these pollution levels.

To improve your community's air quality, there are some small individual steps you can take. For instance, use less electricity, drive less, and don't burn wood or trash.

Graphics via ALA; Image via Rick Uldricks