American Lung Association’s 2014 State of the Air report

This week, the American Lung Association released State of the Air 2014, the organization’s annual report on air quality.

The report looks at the cleanest and most polluted areas in the country.

This year’s report shows continued progress in efforts to reduce ozone and particle pollution, but also shows that substantial challenges remain.

“The State of the Air 2014 report shows that California’s clean air laws and initiatives are working,” said Marsha Ramos, Chair, American Lung Association in California. “However, almost eighty percent of Californians –30 million residents – live in areas plagued with unhealthy air during certain parts of the year. That means residents exposed to pollution are at greater risk for lung cancer, asthma attacks, heart attacks, and premature deaths.”

California cities dominate the list when it comes to high levels ozone (smog,) short-term and annual particle pollution, though the Salinas area ranked highly in terms of clean air, the report found. That’s in contrast to another recent study, however; The American Lung Association’s report looks at statistics from 2010-2012.

Highlights of the California findings

Full report available here.