The American Lung Association's annual "State of the Air" report has named the Charleston Metro Area as one of the cleanest cities for ozone pollution in the US. The report grades exposure to ground-level ozone, air pollution, annual particle pollution, and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period.
The Charleston Metro Area received an A grade, and the Wheeling Metro Area earned a B grade, its best result for year-round particle pollution. According to Aimee Van Cleave, the advocacy director for the American Lung Association in West Virginia, West Virginia residents are breathing some of the cleanest air in the country.
The report showed that the Charleston metro area had zero unhealthy days per year, while the Wheeling metro area had an average of 0.3 unhealthy days per year. However, nearly four in 10 people across the nation live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution.
Exposure to particle pollution can lead to various health issues such as lung cancer, asthma episodes, heart attacks, strokes, preterm births, and impaired cognitive functioning later in life. The American Lung Association encourages individuals to take several actions to improve air quality, such as calling on the Environmental Protection Agency to set stronger national limits on ozone pollution and making personal choices like biking or walking instead of driving. They also recommend checking the air quality in the area and signing a petition.
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