Community Corner

Lung Association Gives Philadelphia an "F"

The report was released last week.

The level of ozone in Philadelphia has gotten the county an "F" in a new report by the American Lung Association.

The association's 2012 "State of the Air" report also found that the Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland metro area ranks as the number 10 most polluted city in the nation for year-round particle pollution.

In this case, "ozone" and "particle pollution" are just another way of saying "smog" and "soot."

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Over the last year, Philadelphia had 34 orange days (days when the air quality index is unhealthy for sensitive groups) and one red day (days when the air quality index is unhealthy for everyone). You can check the daily air quality index on airnow.gov.

“State of the Air shows that we’re making steady progress in cutting dangerous pollution from the air as a result of cleanup efforts required under the Clean Air Act," Deb Brown, president and CEO of the American Lung Association of the Mid-Atlantic, said in a news release. 

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"But millions of Americans across the country, including residents of the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton metro area, are still forced to breathe unhealthy levels of air pollution as a result of air quality standards that are outdated."

Philadelphia isn't alone in getting an "F" for its ozone level. A majority of Pennsylvania's counties scored the same way.

Only two counties -- Cambria and Franklin -- recieved B's, the highest grade in the report for Pennsylvania. There were six counties that got a "C" and five that got a "D." 

Among the other findings:

  • Nearly 10 percent of the Philadelphia's population -- 150,355 out of 1,526,006 -- has asthma.
  • 49,215 people have chronic bronchitis.
  • 20,494 people have emphysema.
  • 363,700 people have cardiovascular disease.

Have you noticed a change in the air? Let us know in the comments section.


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