Scranton Metro Area Ranks Among Cleanest in the U.S. for Ozone Pollution for Second Year In a Row; According to the 25th Annual ‘State of the Air’ Report

The Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area (Wyoming Valley) was named among the cleanest in the nation for ozone smog for the second year in a row, according to the American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of the Air” report, which was released today. The metro area’s daily measure of particle pollution remains unchanged at a B grade, but it was worse than a recent seven years of reports that placed it among the nation’s cleanest.

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 Scranton metro area still has work to do,” said Aimee VanCleave, Director of Advocacy, 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 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA 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 Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area ranked among the nation's cleanest cities for ozone pollution. The ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days—0 days per year, an A grade, in both Lackawanna and Luzerne Counties. This was comparable to the area's ranking in last year's report among the nation's cleanest cities, also with 0 days per year, an A grade. 

Particle Pollution in the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area:

The report also tracked short-term spikes in particle pollution, which can be extremely dangerous and even deadly. The Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area ranked 124th 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—0.3 days per year, a B grade, in both Lackawanna and Wyoming Counties. This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 118th worst, also with 0.3 days per year, a B grade. 

For the year-round average level of particle pollution, the area’s only graded county, Lackawanna, received a passing grade for pollution levels below the federal standard that was recently updated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Scranton--Wilkes-Barre, PA metro area ranked 146th worst in the nation.  In last year’s report, the metro area had incomplete data to determine if it earned a passing grade with respect to the standard and was therefore unranked.

In addition to the Scranton--Wilkes-Barre metro area, other notable findings across Pennsylvania include:

• 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 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 Philadelphia-Reading-Camden, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area improved for all three pollutant measures in this year’s report, including setting new record best-ever values for ozone smog and year-round particle pollution. Despite improvement in ozone, the metro area still earns a failing grade and is now worst-ranked in the Mid-Atlantic region for ozone smog.

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.