Philadelphia Metro Area Ranks Worst Most Polluted in Mid-Atlantic, 35th Worst in U.S. for Ozone Smog; Improves for Particle Pollution, Still Earns C for Daily and F for Annual Particle Pollution

The Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area improved for all three pollutants measured in he American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of the Air” report, which was released today, including setting new best-ever values for ozone smog for the third consecutive year and for year-round particle pollution for the second straight year.  Despite the improvement in ozone, the metro area was named 35th most polluted in the nation and worst in the Mid-Atlantic region (defined for this report as DC, DE, MD, NJ, PA, VA, WV) for the measure; the metro area earned a C grade for short-term particle pollution and a failing mark for its year-round measure.

The Lung Association’s 25th annual “State of the Air” report grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution, annual particle pollution and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period. This year’s report includes air quality data from 2020-2022 and is updated to reflect the new annual particle pollution standard that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized in February.

“In the 25 years that the American Lung Association has been doing our ‘State of the Air’ report, we have seen incredible improvement in the nation’s air quality. Unfortunately, more than 131 million people still live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and the Philadelphia metro area still has work to do,” said Deb Brown, Chief Mission Officer for the American Lung Association. “Climate change is making air pollution more likely to form and more difficult to clean up, so there are actions we can and must take to improve air quality in Pennsylvania, including adopting zero-emission standards for passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks. We are also calling on EPA to set long-overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution.”

Ground-level Ozone Pollution in the Philadelphia metro area:

The “State of the Air” report looked at levels of ozone “smog,” the air pollutant affecting the largest number of people in the United States. The Philadelphia metro area ranked 35th worst in the nation for ozone pollution. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—5.5 days per year, an F grade, in Philadelphia County. This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 28th worst, with 6.5 days per year, an F grade. 

Particle Pollution in the Philadelphia metro area:

The report also tracked short-term spikes in particle pollution, which can be extremely dangerous and even deadly. The Philadelphia metro area ranked 73rd worst in the nation for short-term particle pollution. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—1.5 days per year, a C grade, in Philadelphia County. This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 55th worst, with 2.3 days per year, a D grade. 

For the year-round average level of particle pollution, the area’s worst counties, Delaware and Philadelphia, PA, and Camden, NJ, all received a failing grade for the same levels of pollution above the federal standard that was recently updated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Philadelphia metro area ranked 65th worst in the nation. This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 46th worst in the nation.  

In addition to the Philadelphia metro area, other notable findings across Pennsylvania include:

• The Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton metro area was the worst in the Mid-Atlantic for both measures of particle pollution, earning failing grades for both measures and named among the worst 25 cities in U.S. for year-round particle pollution; and third worst in Mid-Atlantic for ozone smog with a D grade.
• The Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metro area improved slightly for all three pollutant measures in the report. Despite ozone smog improving for the fourth consecutive year (and for a second year to its best-ever), the metro area ranks fourth worst in Mid-Atlantic for the measure.
• The Harrisburg-York-Lebanon metro areas ties its best ever record in last year’s report for ozone smog, but still earns a D grade and ranks third worst in Mid-Atlantic for the daily measure of particle pollution. Year-round particle pollution worsens for third straight year, earning a failing grade and placing the area at second-worst in Mid-Atlantic, right behind the Pittsburgh metro area.

The “State of the Air” report found that nationally, more than 131 million people live in an area that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution, and 43.9 million people live in areas with failing grades for all three measures. In the three years covered by this report, individuals in the U.S. experienced the highest number of days when particle pollution reached “very unhealthy” and “hazardous” levels in the history of reporting the “State of the Air.” Communities of color are disproportionately exposed to unhealthy air and are also more likely to be living with one or more chronic conditions that make them more vulnerable to air pollution, including asthma, diabetes and heart disease. The report found that a person of color in the U.S. is more than twice as likely as a white individual to live in a community with a failing grade on all three pollution measures.

Both ozone and particle pollution can cause premature death and other serious health effects such as asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, preterm births and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. Particle pollution can also cause lung cancer.

EPA recently finalized new air pollution rules that will help clean up particle pollution and address climate change. Now, the Lung Association is urging EPA to set long overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution. Stronger limits would help people protect themselves and drive cleanup of polluting sources across the country. See the full report results and sign the petition at Lung.org/SOTA.

Get involved and help the mission of American Lung Association. The LUNG FORCE Walk Philadelphia is coming up on May 11, 2024. Learn more at LUNGFORCE.org/philadelphia.