Air Pollution & the General Population

Here are the facts about the growing number of Americans who are breathing unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution:

Over 51% of the U.S. population lives in counties that have unhealthful levels of either ozone or particle pollution.

Nearly half the U.S. population lives in areas with unhealthful levels of ozone.

More than one in five people in the United States live in areas with unhealthful short-term levels of particle pollution.

Nearly one in five people in the United States live in areas with unhealthful year-round levels of particle pollution.

About 42.5 million Americans, or nearly 15%, live in the 34 counties with unhealthful levels of all three types of air pollutants: ozone, and short-term and year-round particle pollution.

Air Pollution & High-Risk Groups

Many groups of people are at increased risk when exposed to air pollution because of their age or because they suffer from chronic lung or cardiovascular disease. Recent research has added people with diabetes to the high-risk category because exposure to particle pollution can affect their cardiovascular systems. High-risk groups include:

Adults age 65 and older

Children under age 18

Adults and children with asthma

People with chronic bronchitis or emphysema (also known as Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD)

People with any other chronic lung disease

People with cardiovascular disease

People with diabetes

For more information on how you can protect your family and clean up the air in your community, go to LungUSA.org.