Disparities in Air Quality Exposure Highlighted in American Lung Association’s State of the Air Report

Despite comprising 41.6% of the U.S. population, people of color represent 52% of those living in counties with at least one failing grade for air quality.The American Lung Association’s 25th annual “State of the Air” report has revealed significant disparities in air quality across the United States, with people of color, low-income communities, children, older adults, and individuals with underlying health conditions disproportionately affected.Despite comprising 41.6% of the U.S. population, people of color represent 52% of those living in counties with at least one failing grade for air quality. In counties with the poorest air quality, where failing grades are given for all three measures of air pollution, 63% of the nearly 44 million residents are people of color, compared to 37% white.Bakersfield, Calif.; Fresno-Madera-Hanford (Calif.); Fairbanks, AK; Eugene-Springfield, Oregon; and Visalia, Calif., counted as the top five cities most polluted by short-term particle pollution. Meanwhile, the California cities of San Jose, San Francisco, and Oakland, joined the others as the most heavily polluted by year-round particle pollution. The report’s authors also noted that ground-level ozone pollution is a powerful respiratory irritant whose effects have been likened to a sunburn of the lungs. Inhaling ozone can cause shortness of breath,...