How Widespread is Air Pollution in the United States?
Sadly, air pollution is now a widespread problem in the United States. It comes from multiple sources — factories, power plants, dry cleaners, cars and trucks, wildfires and even from materials in your home. Two out of every five people, or 42 percent of the U.S. population, actually live in counties that have unhealthful levels of ozone or particle pollution — two types of air pollution — according to the American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2008. You can check the daily air quality in your area at AirNow.gov, the most polluted cities that have year-round particle pollution (the most dangerous of the widespread outdoor air pollutants) are: • Los Angeles, CA • Bakersfield, CA • Visalia, CA • Houston, TX • Fresno, CA • Sacramento, CA • Dallas, TX • New York City, NY • Washington D.C./Baltimore, MD • Baton Rouge The air inside of your home may actually be an even bigger threat to your health than outdoor air. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): “In the
