One-third of Americans live in harmful pollution levels – report

An annual report published by the American Lung Association revealed more than one-third of Americans live in unhealthy air pollution levels.

The Association’s senior director for policy, Katerine Pruitt said “120 million people were living in places that got unhealthy grades.”

She also referred to “improvements in ozone air pollution” which made the number smaller than last year.

Pruitt traced the drop in ozone pollution standards and regulations being improved following the Clean Air Act.

However, “the impact of climate change is undermining the progress that’s been made,” Pruitt explained.

This year’s report presents data from the years between 2019 and 2021. Data included is the most recent quality-assured nationwide air pollution data publicly available according to the association’s official website.