Most Polluted Cities and Counties 2016

Highways May Be Especially Dangerous for Breathing Being in heavy traffic, or living near a road, may be even more dangerous than being in other places in a community. Growing evidence shows that the vehicle emissions coming directly from those highways may be higher than in the community as a whole, increasing the risk of harm to people who live or work near busy roads. The number of people living next to a busy road” may include 30 to 45 percent of the urban population in North America, according to the most recent review of the evidence.

The researchers analyzed information from more than 300 air-quality monitoring sites throughout the United States, from 1999 to 2013. The researchers looked at levels of so-called fine particulate matter — tiny particles that can get deep into the lungs, and are linked with a number of health problems.

The study found that average concentrations of fine particulate matter, taken over a 24-hour period, are 42 percent greater on July Fourth, compared with the few days before and after the holiday.

The increases in fine particulate matter were highest from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on the Fourth. During that hour, fine particulate matter concentrations increased by 21 micrograms per cubic meter (µg/m3), pushing the total concentration close to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's limit for a 24-hour period of 35 µg/m3. [50 Fabulous 4th of July Facts: History of Independence]

On a local level, increases in fine particulate matter varied depending on a number of factors, including the weather and the proximity of fireworks to the monitoring site. At one site in Utah, where fireworks were set off in a field next to the air-quality monitoring site, particulate matter concentrations rose 370 percent on the holiday, well above the EPA standard.

This graph shows the rise in fine particulate matter pollution from 8 p.m. on July 4 in red, as compared to the days before and after July 4, which are in blue. The increases in fine particulate matter were highest from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4.
This graph shows the rise in fine particulate matter pollution from 8 p.m. on July 4 in red, as compared to the days before and after July 4, which are in blue. The increases in fine particulate matter were highest from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. on July 4.
Credit: NOAA
Exposure to fine particles, like those found in smoke and haze, is linked with a number of negative health effects, such as coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, asthma attacks and even heart attacks, stroke and early death, according to the EPA. People at greatest risk for problems from fine particulate matter are those with heart or lung disease, older adults and children.

The findings are "another wake-up call for those who may be particularly sensitive to the effects of fine particulate matter," study researcher Dian Seidel, a senior scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Air Resources Laboratory in College Park, Maryland, said in a statement.

The EPA recommends that people who are sensitive to fine particulate matter try to limit their exposure to fireworks, either by watching them from upwind or as far away as possible.

Although previous studies have noted an increase in fine particulate matter following fireworks displays, the new study is the first to quantify the effects of fireworks nationwide.

"We chose the holiday, not to put a damper on celebrations of America's independence, but because it is the best way to do a nationwide study of the effects of fireworks on air quality," Seidel said. "These results will help improve air-quality predictions, which currently don't account for fireworks as a source of air pollution."

States are allowed to exceed the EPA standard for 24-hour fine particulate matter concentrations, if they can show that the spike was due to fireworks displays, or other "exceptional events," the researchers said.

15 LUNG.org AMERICAN LUNG ASSOCIATION STATE OF THE AIR 2016
People at Risk In 25 U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution (Annual PM2.5)
2016 Total

#1 Bakersfield
#2 Visalia–Porterville–Hanford
# 3 Fresno–Madera
# 4 Los Angeles–Long Beach
# 5 El Centro
# 6 Modesto-Merced
# 6 San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland
# 16 San Luis Obispo–Paso Robles–Arroyo Grande

People at Risk In 25 Counties Most Polluted by Year-Round Particle Pollution (Annual PM2.5) PM2.5 Annual
Rank | County Grade
# 1 Kern Fail
# 2 Tulare Fail
# 3 Kings Fail
# 4 Madera Fail
# 5 Fresno Fail
# 6 Riverside Fail
# 7 Imperial Fail
# 8 Plumas Fail
# 9 Stanislaus Fail
# 9 San Joaquin Fail
# 13 San Bernardino Fail
# 16 Los Angeles Fail

People at Risk in 25 Counties Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution (24-hour PM2.5) High PM2.5 Days in Unhealthy Ranges,
Rank | Grade
1 Kern F
2 Fresno F
3 Kings F
4 Stanislaus F
6 Madera F
11 San Joaquin F
12 Merced F
15 Tulare F
17 Riverside F
18 Santa Cruz CA F
22 Plumas F
22 Inyo F

People at Risk In 25 U.S. Cities Most Polluted by Short-Term Particle Pollution (24-hour PM2.5)
2016 Total
1 Bakersfield
2 Fresno–Madera
3 Visalia–Porterville–Hanford
4 Modesto–Merced
8 San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland
9 Los Angeles–Long Beach
13 El Centro
1 7 Sacramento-Roseville

People at Risk In 25 Most Ozone-Polluted Cities
Rank1 Metropolitan Statistical Areas
1 Los Angeles–Long Beach,
# 2 Bakersfield
# 3 Visalia–Porterville–Hanford
# 4 Fresno–Madera
# 6 Sacramento–Rosevill
# 7 Modesto–Merced
# 12 El Centro
# 13 San Diego–Carlsbad
# 16 San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland
# 23 San Luis Obispo–Paso Robles–Arroyo Grande

People at Risk in 25 Most Ozone-Polluted Counties
High Ozone Days in Unhealthy Ranges, 2016 Total
# 1 San Bernardino F
# 2 Riverside F
3 Kern F
4 Los Angeles F
# 5 Tulare F
# 6 Fresno F
# 7 Madera F
# 8 Kings F
# 10 El Dorado F
# 11 Stanislaus F
# 12 Sacramento F
# 17 Merced F
# 19 Mariposa F
# 20 Imperial F
# 21 San Diego F
# 23 Placer F
# 25 Nevada F

Particle pollution is produced through two separate processes—mechanical and
chemical.

Top 25 Cleanest U.S. Cities for Year-Round Particle Pollution (Annual PM2.5)
#8 Salinas, CA
#9 Redding-Red Bluff, CA

1. This list represents cities with the lowest levels of year-round PM2.5 air pollution.
2. Cities are ranked by using the highest design value for any county within that metropolitan area.
3. The Design Value is the calculated concentration of a pollutant based on the form of the Annual
PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standard, and is used by EPA to determine whether the air
quality in a county meets the current (2012) standard (U.S. EPA).

30 Cleanest U.S. Cities for Ozone Air Pollution
Salinas

Top 25 Cleanest Counties for Year-RoundParticle Pollution (Annual PM2.5)1 2016

#2 Lake
#14 San Benito

Cleanest Counties for Short-Term Particle Pollution (24-hour PM2.5)

Humboldt CA
Lake CA
Mendocino CA
Monterey CA Salinas, CA
San Benito CA San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA
Santa Barbara CA Santa Maria–Santa Barbara, CA
Shasta CA Redding–Red Bluff, CA
Sonoma CA San Jose–San Francisco–Oakland, CA
Yolo CA Sacramento–Roseville, CA

Cleanest Counties for Ozone Pollution

Colusa CA
Humboldt CA
Marin CA San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
Mendocino CA
Monterey CA Salinas, CA
San Francisco CA San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA
Sonoma CA San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA

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