Mech
Joined: 06 Jun 2001
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Location: THE 4th REICH USA |
Cities with the worst air quality in the U.S.
 Thu Aug 21, 2003 1:41 am
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Study: Calif. City Has Worst Air in U.S.
Wed Aug 20,12:02 PM ET
Add U.S. National - AP
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A national air pollution study found that Riverside, Calif., has the nation's worst air quality, with an average of 148 unhealthy air days a year.
The next four cities on the list were all in California: Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles-Long Beach and Sacramento.
The Charlotte area has the 11th worst air quality in the nation, the second time this year the area has appeared on a bad air list, the Washington-based Surface Transportation Policy Project said Tuesday.
The American Lung Association in the spring said the area has the 10th worst smog in the country. It has been on the bad-air top 10 list four straight years.
Air pollution means more asthma and heart disease, researchers say.
The study also showed that air pollution problems are worsening in North Carolina and South Carolina, with Greenville-Spartanburg's air problems growing faster than any other U.S. city's.
Other North Carolina urban areas had some dirty air, the study said. The Greensboro area ranked 32nd nationally and Raleigh 34th, both with about 17 unhealthy air days annually.
Findings of the study may be partially weather-related because the second half of the past decade featured the hot and dry conditions that favor elevated ozone levels, said Lewis Weinstock of the Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department, which is the leader for the region's air monitoring.
The Surface Transportation Policy Project is a group that wants more public spending on transit, sidewalks and bicycling to reduce the nation's dependence on cars. The American Public Health Association and the American College of Emergency Physicians also participated in the study, which used 2000-2002 data from the Environmental Protection Agency.
The research group said more driving is the chief cause of worsening air quality, even though vehicle emissions are 90 percent cleaner than 30 years ago.
Americans are driving 162 percent more miles than they did in 1969, or about 5 percent more annually. In Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, mileage increased an average 6.5 percent annually.
Rounding out the top 10 were Pittsburgh; Knoxville, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala.; Houston and Baltimore.
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