ST. LOUIS — The American Lung Association released the 25th annual "State of the Air" report and it's bad news for the St. Louis metro area.
The report says 131 million Americans are living in regions with unhealthy ozone or particle pollution. The report found an increase in air pollution compared to last year for the St. Louis metro area. This is a concern for pregnant women, people with underlying health conditions and people of color.
The report released overnight Wednesday reveals our area was the 30th most polluted city in the country for high ozone days. Last year the St. Louis area saw the lowest number of high ozone days on record.
Ozone days are when weather conditions are likely to combine with pollution emissions to form high levels of ozone near the ground.
The American Lung Association gave United States cities and states grades for ozone and particle pollution. St. Charles County was considered the worst in our area getting an "F". St. Louis got a "D" and St. Louis County received a "C". Jefferson County also received a "D" grade.
When it comes to the Metro East, Madison County is considered unsafe with an "F" rating. Jersey County got a "D" and St. Clair County got a "C".
The association says more than 750,000 people of color are disproportionately affected by unhealthy air quality in the St. Louis area. Laura Turner serves as the Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association in Missouri.
"Communities of color are disproportionately exposed to unhealthy air, and are also more likely to be living with one or more chronic conditions like asthma, diabetes, and heart disease that make them more vulnerable to air pollution. And the report found that a person of color in the US is more than two times likely than a white individual to live in a community with a failing grade on all three pollution measures," Turner said.
In terms of what factors cause bad air quality, the American Lung Association says things like factories and driving gas-powered cars all contribute to pollution.
The association says many environmental advocates have been asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to be stronger and crack down on pollution that factories emit.
The association says they have their own recommendations for our area.
"I think if we can strengthen our ozone requirements, the way that we enforce that in Missouri, for the factories and big polluters, also emissions from vehicles. If we have better opportunities for electrification of vehicles, places people can charge making them more accessible. And then on the larger side, making our power grid cleaner," Turner said.
The association recommends calling your local, state and federal leaders to aid in the fight for better air quality. They also urge people to sign petitions for better air quality in their city and state.
National goals for the association include:
- Champion clean air for all
- Reduce air pollution and address climate change by increasing the use of non[1]combustion renewable electricity sources to 38% by 2025
- Increase the number of zero-emission vehicles (battery electric and fuel cells) on
the road to 7.5 million by 2025