DENVER — Despite decades of gains under the Clean Air Act, extreme heat, drought and wildfires are making it harder to maintain clean air, the American Lung Association's annual “State of the Air” report released on Wednesday found.
The Denver Metro saw some improvements but is still ranked 8th worst in the nation for ozone pollution, which can come from cars, smokestacks and factories.
▶️ WATCH: Denver7's Jessica Porter talks the latest State of the Air report with the American Lung Association's director of advocacy
“Folks in the Denver metro area in this year's report experienced 15 to 20 fewer unhealthy days of ozone pollution compared with last year's report. That's an important distinction, but also important to point out, we're still getting an F grade here,” said Nick Torres, the director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Colorado.
The Denver metro also saw a reduction in particle pollution — that’s from wildfires and coal-fired plants — dropping to 106th-worst in the nation from 40th.
Young people are the most susceptible to the health impacts of air pollution, which can cause reduced lung growth, asthma and other respiratory diseases.
Despite poor ratings in the Denver metro area, several Colorado cities ranked among the Top 25 cleanest U.S. cities by year-round particle pollution. Those cities are Grand Junction, Colorado Springs and Pueblo.
Across the country, the report finds air pollution is a widespread health risk, with about 44% of Americans, 152 million people, living in areas with unhealthy ozone or particle pollution levels. Children are especially vulnerable; nearly half live in counties with failing air quality grades, and 10% face unhealthy levels across all major measures.
Smoke from wildfires continues to be behind the severity of particle pollution. The American Lung Association Report found that although there was an improvement, the latest data remain among historically high values. There were 960 unhealthy days across the country last year due to particle pollution, and 182 very unhealthy days.
The American Lung Association warns that recent rollbacks of environmental laws could affect children's health.
In February, the EPA overturned the 2009 Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding, which formally concluded that greenhouse gas pollution endangers public health or welfare. By repealing the Endangerment Finding, the EPA removed the legal basis for regulating greenhouse gases, weakening public health protection for people and the environment. The EPA also repealed emissions standards for vehicles.
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