Oklahoma City ranked as the nation’s 24th-most polluted city for ozone but made improvements over 2015 according to the American Lung Association’s 201 “State of the Air” report.
“The 201 State of the Air report finds unhealthful levels of ozone in Oklahoma City, putting our local citizens at risk for premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks and cardiovascular harm,” said Jeremy Hughey, Executive Director of the American Lung Association in Oklahoma. “Across the nation, the report found continued improvement in air quality, but more than half of the people in the United States live in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution.”
Compared to the 2015 report, which covered 2011 through 2013, Oklahoma City experienced fewer unhealthy days of high ozone in this year’s report. The same report found year-round particle pollution or soot in 2012-2014 was slightly lower than he 2015 report. Oklahoma City along with 15 other cities reached their lowest levels ever and three others improved over the period covered by the 2015 report.
“These particles are so small that they can lodge deep in the lungs and trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and strokes and can even be lethal,” said Hughey.
“Year-round particle pollution levels have dropped thanks to the cleanup of coal-fired power plants and the retirement of old, dirty diesel engines.”
