Photo: Mario Tama / Getty Images
California has some of the most polluted metropolises in the country , according to the “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association, published this Thursday.
The urban area of Los Angeles-Long Beach is the one with the most ozone-polluted air, followed by Bakersfield, Visalia and Fresno-Madera-Handford, accompanied by Phoenix-Meza, in Arizona, in the list of the five metropolises with the worst quality of the environment, according to the report of the period 2018-2021 .
Ozone pollution at ground level is a powerful respiratory irritant whose effects they are described as sunstroke of the lung. Inhaling ozone can cause shortness of breath, coughing, asthma attacks, and can shorten life.
Pollution by particulates PM 2.5
Fresno-Madera-Hanford, Bakersfield, San José-San Francisco-Oakland and Redding-Red Bluff are among the five urban areas most affected by short-term pollution of PM 2.5 particles.
In terms of the most polluted by PM 2.5 particles in the long term, California dominates the table of the five worst in the United Statess with Bakersfield, Fresno-Madera-Hanford, Visalia, San José-San Francisco-Oakland and Los Angeles-Long Beach.
According to the report, the American Lung Association stated that, compared to last year’s report, about 9 million more people suffered from the effects of contamination by the pair PM 2.5 particles, which can be deadly.
Particulate pollution, known technically as PM 2.5, comes from forest fires, wood-burning cooking, coal-burning power plants, diesel engines, and other sources.
PM 2.5 particles can cause episodes of asthma, heart attacks, strokes and cause lung cancer.
Pollution by PM 2.5 particles in the short term reflects the daily peaks, while in the long term it represents the concentration of particles at each location.
These urban areas in California received a rating of “ failure”, according to the annual report.
Increase on the most polluted days
The report released this Thursday also reflected that there were more days with “very unhealthy” and “dangerous” parameters in air quality compared to other reports in the two decades that it has been published.
The American Lung Association tracks and assesses air quality and exposure of the US population to unhealthy levels with its annual report card of short-term increases in pollution with PM 2.5 particles (soot), the annual pollution with PM 2.5 particles. and by the ozone levels in the air at ground level for a period of 3 years.
“More than 137 million people in the United States live in counties that had levels unhealthy pollution with particles or ozone. Additionally, communities discriminated against on racial or ethnic grounds suffer disproportionately from exposure to unhealthy air,” said Harold Wimmer, National Vice President and Executive Director of the American Lung Association.
Vulnerable population in discriminated communities
According to the report, these people were 61% more likely than white people to live in a county with a failure score for at least one pollutant and 3.6 times more likely to live in a county with a failure score for all three pollutants.
The report found that more than 122.3 million people live in counties with an ozone pollution failure rating.
Although it represents 860,000 residents less than the year report past, includes millions of vulnerable people who face greater risk from this pollutant, such as 27.8 million children and 000.5 million people of 80 years or older.
Report revealed long-term improvement
This report showed long-term improvement in the nation’s air quality as a result of decades of work to reduce polluting emissions.
However, progress is being overshadowed by the negative effects of hotter and drier conditions due to climate change.
It was noted that wildfires in the western United States were responsible for an increase in air pollution. nation by particles in some entities.
In general, this report stated that 2.1 million more of U.S. residents live in counties with worse air quality compared to last year’s report, plus exposure to deadly particulate pollution has worsened PM 2.5.
No California city ranked in the 10 cities with the cleanest air in the United States.
In this link, you can see the full report of the American Lung Association.
It may interest you:
· Los Angeles tops the list of US cities with the worst air quality in 2021, according to report
Start p project to create green areas within schools in dense communities
· Los Angeles evaluates phasing out the 1,000 oil wells and gas that exist in the city