Denver's ozone pollution among nation's worst, report reveals
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Denver's ozone pollution ranks among the worst in the U.S., according to a report out Wednesday from the American Lung Association.
Why it matters: Air pollution threatens everyone's health — especially children, seniors and people with asthma or heart and lung conditions.
By the numbers: The Denver metro is No. 6 among the 25 U.S. cities most polluted by ozone. That puts nearly 127,000 children and 92,000 seniors in Denver alone at heightened risk.
- Fort Collins and Colorado Springs landed at 13th and 23rd, respectively.
- This latest report includes data from 2021-2023, "the most recent three years of quality-assured nationwide air pollution data publicly available."
State of play: The findings come as the Polis administration asks the EPA to downgrade the Front Range's air quality designation to "severe," which would buy more time for the state to address rising ozone levels.
- Meanwhile, the White House is weighing rollbacks to EPA rules designed to curb pollution and expand clean air protections.
- And the EPA on Tuesday announced plans to fire or reassign more than 450 staffers, which could effectively end many of the agency's efforts tackling pollution in historically disadvantaged communities.
The big picture: Just over 156 million Americans, 46% of the population, now live in areas with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution, per the Lung Association's new report.
- That's up by nearly 25 million people from last year — the highest total in a decade.
Between the lines: Extreme heat, wildfires and drought are degrading air quality nationwide, the Lung Association says. All are linked to climate change.
How it works: The report uses local air quality data to grade and rank locations based on ozone pollution, daily particle pollution and annual particle pollution.
- Ozone is a gas that, at ground level, is a harmful irritant. Particle pollution involves tiny airborne particles from wildfires, fossil fuel burning and more.
What they're saying: "Clearly, we need to do more to control the pollutants that are impacting our changing climate and worsening the factors … that are threatening our health, instead of thinking about how to roll them back," says Katherine Pruitt, senior director of nationwide clean air policy at the American Lung Association and report author.