One in six people in the United States lives in an area with unhealthy year-round levels of fine particle pollution.
The American Lung Association fought to strengthen the Clean Air Act in 1990.
You can protect your family by checking the air quality forecasts in your community and avoiding exercising or working outdoors when the unhealthy air is expected.
Steps you can take to improve air quality will also help fight climate change. Drive less. Don’t burn wood or trash. Use less electricity. Make sure your school system requires clean buses.
Some of the biggest sources of air pollution are dirty power plants, old diesel vehicles and heavy equipment, and ocean-going vessels.
Air pollution is a serious health threat. It sends people to the hospital, shapes how kids’ lungs develop, and can even be deadly.
You can join our fight for healthy air. Click on Take Action to learn how.
Minorities and lower income groups are often disproportionately affected by illnesses that put them at higher risk from air pollution.
New research warns that women in their 50’s may be particularly sensitive to air pollution.
Certain groups are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution, such as: infants, older adults and people with lung diseases like asthma.
Only one city—Fargo, N.D.—ranked among the cleanest in all three air pollution categories covered in State of the Air.
40.5 million Americans live in counties where the outdoor air failed all three tests covered in the State of the Air report.
Six out of ten Americans live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution.
People who work or exercise outside face increased risk from the effects of air pollution.
Even with the growing “green movement,” air pollution in some parts our country actually got worse since last year’s report.
Air pollution remains a real and urgent threat to public health in the US, despite real progress since 1970.
2009 marks the 10th anniversary for the Lung Association’s State of the Air report.
The American Lung Association leads the fight for healthy air every day. We fight for tighter clean air standards, reduced power plant emissions and cleaner diesel fuels and vehicles.
The most widespread kinds of air pollution are ozone (smog) and particle pollution (soot). Breathing either can harm your body and risk your life.
Breathing in particle pollution can increase the risk of early death, heart attacks, strokes and emergency room visits for asthma and cardiovascular disease.
