Bangor, ME Metro Area Ranked One of Cleanest Cities in the U.S., According to the 25th Annual ‘State of the Air’ Report

Bangor, ME metro area was named one of the cleanest cities in the nation for ozone and particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of the Air” report, which was released today. The Bangor metro area has been among the nation’s cleanest cities for ozone for seven years in a row, and for its daily measure of particle pollution for fifteen years.  

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. Thankfully, Bangor is listed as one of the cleanest cities for three measures of the most common air pollutants,” said Lance Boucher, Division Assistant Vice President for the American Lung Association. “Unfortunately, across the nation, there are more than 131 million people who live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution. 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. We are also calling on EPA to set long-overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution.”

Ground-level Ozone Pollution in the Bangor, ME 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 Bangor, ME 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 Penobscot County Maine. This was comparable to the area's ranking in last year's report among the nation's cleanest cities, with 0 days per year, an A grade.  

Particle Pollution in the Bangor, ME metro area: 
The report also tracked short-term spikes in particle pollution, which can be extremely dangerous and even deadly. The Bangor, ME metro area ranked among the nation's cleanest cities for short-term particle 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 Penobscot, Maine. This was comparable to the area's ranking in last year's report among the nation's cleanest cities, with 0 days per year, an A grade.  

For the year-round average level of particle pollution, the area’s worst county, Penobscot received a passing grade for pollution levels below the federal standard that was recently updated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The Bangor, ME metro area ranked 200th worst in the nation (5th best among the nation's cleanest cities). This was better than the area's ranking in last year's report of 196th worst in the nation (5th best among the nation's cleanest cities). 

In addition to the Bangor, ME metro area metro area, other notable findings across Maine include: 

• Androscoggin, Cumberland, Sagadahoc and York Counties were included in the Portland-Lewiston-South Portland metro-area. 
  • Ozone in Portland-Lewiston-South Portland metro area worsened, earning the metro area a rank of 69th worst in the nation for ozone pollution. 
  • However, the daily measure for fine particle pollution places was comparable to last year, earning the area a place among the nation’s cleanest cities for 7th consecutive year.  
  • The year-round measure for this metro area set a new best-ever value, placing it among nation’s 25 cleanest.
• For ozone pollutions: Androscoggin, Aroostook, Kennebec, Oxford, Penobscot, and Washington Counties all earned A grades; Knox County earned a B grade; Cumberland, Hancock, and York Counties all earned C grades
• For short term particle pollution Androscoggin, Cumberland, Hancock, Kennebec, and Penobscot earned A grades; Oxford earned a B grade and Aroostook earned a C grade.
• All Maine counties received passing grades for year round particle pollution levels below the federal standard that was recently updated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

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. Our 40th Annual Trek Across Maine in coming up on June 14 – 16. Learn more and register today at TrekAcrossMaine.org