SEATTLE, WA | April 18, 2023
“We have made real progress in Washington, but there is much more work to be done to ensure everyone in our state has clean, healthy air to breathe,” said Carrie Nyssen, Senior Director of Advocacy for the American Lung Association. “Even one poor air quality day is one too many for children, older adults, people with chronic illnesses and other vulnerable populations including lower-income residents, and people of color. Policymakers at the local, state and federal levels must act to ensure that we all have clean air to breathe and no community is left behind.”
Yakima and Spokane appear on the Top 25 most polluted for short-term particle pollution while Bellingham and Seattle fell out of the top 25.
Yakima ranked #11 most polluted for short-term particle pollution and had its highest number of unhealthy particle pollution days in this year’s report. The city also ranked #11 most polluted for year-round particles. Data is not collected for ozone pollution.
Spokane ranked #14 most polluted for short-term particle pollution and also had the highest number of unhealthy days recorded. The data was incomplete to provide a ranking for year-round particles. The city ranked #75 for ozone pollution maintaining its C grade from last year’s report.
Seattle-Tacoma ranked #28 most polluted for short-term particle pollution registering fewer days than the previous report and also improved for year-round particles (ranked #84). The ranking for ozone also improved (ranked #58).
Bellingham was named one of the cleanest cities for ozone pollution and for year-round particle pollution. The city is ranked #34 most polluted for short-term particle pollution (better ranking and fewer days than the previous report.
“Washington must shift to zero-emission technologies and invest public funds only in transportation projects that support healthy air,” said Nyssen. “We can’t continue to invest in projects that contribute to poor air quality and health disparities. Setting stronger standards for zero-emission trucks are among the best opportunities we have to protect health. Ensuring our state is well equipped to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires smoke events is also a major need in our quest for clean air.”
The Lung Association’s 24th annual “State of the Air” report grades Americans’ 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 covers 2019-2021.
Nationally, the report found that ozone pollution has generally improved across the nation, thanks in large part to the success of the Clean Air Act. However, more work remains to fully clean up harmful pollution, and short-term particle pollution continues to get worse. In addition, some communities bear a greater burden of air pollution. Out of the nearly 120 million people who live in areas with unhealthy air quality, a disproportionate number – more than 64 million (54%) – are people of color. In fact, people of color were 64% more likely than white people to live in a county with a failing grade for at least one measure, and 3.7 times as likely to live in a county with a failing grade for all three measures.
The American Lung Association is calling on President Biden to urgently move forward on several measures to clean up air pollution nationwide, including new pollution limits on ozone and particle pollution and new measures to clean up power plants and vehicles. See the full report results and sign the petition at Lung.org/SOTA.
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The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to champion clean air for all; to improve the quality of life for those with lung disease and their families; and to create a tobacco-free future. For more information about the American Lung Association, which has a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and is a Platinum-Level GuideStar Member, call 1-800-LUNGUSA (1-800-586-4872) or visit: Lung.org. To support the work of the American Lung Association, find a local event at Lung.org/events.
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