Grand Rapids, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – After a quarter century of analyzing air quality monitors, the American Lung Association recently published its 2024 “State of the Air” and highlighted some of Michigan’s best and worst places to take a breath.

Since 2000, the ALA has been researching and documenting air quality measurements from across the country.

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“We write and release “State of the Air” every year to make information on air quality and health clear and accessible to everyone,” the group said in its latest report. “We show the progress each community has made and how much more needs to be done to achieve healthy air. In this report, you’ll find information on local air quality nationwide. You’ll also find the latest research on how air pollution affects health. With these tools, you can take proactive steps to safeguard both your lungs and your family’s lungs from unhealthy air.”

The current report focuses mostly on air pollutants, fine particles, and the ozone.

The ALA found that in 2024, 39% of Americans, or roughly 131 million people, still live in places with failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particulate pollution.

“When we started doing “State of the Air” in 2000, I never imagined that in the 25th edition we would be reporting that more than 100 million people are still breathing unhealthy air. It’s unacceptable,” said Paul Billings, National Senior Vice President for Public Policy for the American Lung Association.

For a copy of the report, see here.

Michigan cities garner poor air quality achievements in the study.

The list of 25 cities with the worst ozone pollution in “State of the Air ” 2024 and their order of ranking remained very similar to last year, with one notable exception.

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“This year, Hartford Connecticut was the only city that improved enough to move off the worst 25 list,” according to the report. “It was replaced by Grand Rapids, Michigan, which earned a spot on the list for the first time in 8 years.”

Among the other 25 cities most polluted by ozone was the Chicago-Naperville area at #17 in Illinois for cities most polluted.

“In the 25 years that the American Lung Association has been doing our ‘State of the Air’ report, we have seen incredible improvement in our nation’s air quality. Unfortunately, more than 131 million people still live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and Grand Rapids is listed as one of the worst places for ozone pollution,” said Ken Fletcher, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association in Michigan. “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.”

The Grand Rapids-Kentwood-Muskegon, MI metro area was ranked 105th 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—0.7 days per year, a B grade, in Allegan County, Michigan,” the ALA said. “This was worse than the area’s ranking in last year’s report of 118th worst, with 0.3 days per year, a B grade.”

Detroit was also given poor marks as it was given the title “13th worst in the nation for annual particle pollution” and several Detroit area counties were given failing grades for ozone in the short-term and annual particle pollution categories.

American Lung Association Recommendations for the future.

The ALA also issued some recommendations to improve air quality across the nation and world.

  • Implement EPA’s new clean air protections.
  • Set a clean or renewable electricity standard or clean peak standard
  • Prioritize deployment of clean energy production.
  • Leverage Inflation Reduction Act funding
  • States: Use Clean Air Act authority to adopt the California zero-emissions standards for cars and trucks.

For more information and recommendations, see here.