Just under 40% of Americans — 131.2 million people — live in places with failing grades for unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution.
That’s a key finding from the latest “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association (ALA), released in April. The latest edition of the annual publication ranks cities and grades counties based on ozone and particle pollution during 2020, 2021, and 2022, based on official data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This year’s report ranks the Denver-Aurora area the sixth worst in the country for high ozone days. Douglas County, in the south Denver metro area and inclusive of cities such as Parker, Lone Tree, Highlands Ranch, and Castle Rock, is ranked the 10th worst county in the U.S. for ozone pollution. According to the National Center for Atmospheric Research, Colorado’s high ozone numbers are attributable to emissions from oil and gas operations and traffic, as well as the state’s unique geography, wind patterns, and plentiful days of sunshine each year.
The 2024 “State of the Air” report also finds significant disparities among those living in the most polluted areas.
“Although people of color make up 41.6% of the overall population of the U.S., they are 52% of the people living in a county with at least one failing grade,” the report reads. “In the counties with the worst air quality that get failing grades for all three measures of air pollution (ozone, short-term particle pollution, and year-round particle pollution), 63% of the nearly 44 million residents are people of color, compared to 37% who are white.”
We spoke with Jay Lemery, MD, co-director of the Climate & Health Program in the University of Colorado School of Medicine, about the report’s findings and what they mean.