Air Pollution Effecting 60 Percent of Americans Says New Report

Boston (HealthKnowItAll) - A new report released by the American Lung Association reveals that up to 60 percent of Americans are living in areas with poor air quality.

Living in areas with unhealthy air pollution can be very unhealthy, putting one at risk of serious health problems including lung disease, heart disease and various types of cancer.

“Six out of 10 Americans right now as we speak live in areas where the air can be dirty enough to send people to the emergency room, dirty enough to shape how kids’ lungs develop and even dirty enough to kill,” said Janice E. Nolen, the association’s assistant vice president on national policy and advocacy.

For their report, entitled “State of the Air Report,” the ALA ranked American cities using data from reported air quality measurements.

According to the report, Southern California is the most polluted metropolitan area, but not far behind them is New Castle, Pittsburgh and Madera, Fresno.

When it came to the cleanest metropolitan area, one had to look no further than Fargo, N.D.