The five-county Los Angeles region is the smoggiest metro area in the country for the 21st time in the 22 years that the American Lung Association has been issuing the rankings, according to the “State of the Air 2021” report released Tuesday, April 20, by the group.

In the county-by-county breakdown, San Bernardino, Riverside and Los Angeles counties rank first, second and third as the nation’s smoggiest counties. Orange County, listed 25th, also received a failing grade. Ventura County, included in the five-county region, was not among the 25 worst, but also got an “F.” The report compiled data from a three-year period, 2017 to 2019.

The region’s poor showing came despite improvements from the 2020 report and after decades of progress in a state with some of the country’s most aggressive air-quality laws and initiatives. Climate change and related repercussions, including increases in wildfires and heat, are contributing to ongoing air quality challenges, while motor vehicle traffic continues to be a primary factor.

Six other metro areas in the state were among the 10 worst in the country for smog, and six, including Los Angeles, were among the 10 worst for soot, also known as particle pollution.

“California’s leading clean air policies have driven significant improvements, but more must be done to ensure that all communities experience the benefits of healthy air,” said Will Barrett, director of clean air advocacy for the American Lung Association.

Barrett called on state lawmakers to invest $1 billion in zero-emission vehicle infrastructure and initiatives to help lower income residents get into zero-emission cars. He also urged the California Air Resources Board to establish zero-emission rules for commercial trucks.

“There’s no time for delay,” he said.

Nationwide, while there was improvement in air quality, significant work still needs to be done to reduce both smog — also known as ozone — and particle pollution. Since the Clean Air Act was passed in 1970, emissions of pollutants have fallen by 77%, but millions of Americans remain at risk.

“More than 40% of Americans — more than 135 million people — are living in places with unhealthy levels of ozone or particle pollution,” the report says. “The burden of living with unhealthy air is not shared equally. People of color are more than three times more likely to be breathing the most polluted air than (are) white people.”

Health repercussions

Both smog and soot can contribute to asthma and other lung diseases, as well as heart disease, reproductive and developmental issues, and respiratory infections. But those two air pollutants, considered the most harmful, are a particular threat to those who already have lung and heart problems, to the elderly and to children.

“Simple activities like walking to school or playing outside after school are turned into health threats,” said Southern California pediatrician Afif El-Hasan at an American Lung Association teleconference Tuesday. “This is a public health threat that’s out of their control.”

Jack Broadbent, head of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, told reporters at the teleconference that he was encouraged by President Joe Biden’s priorities concerning emissions and air quality.

The report, meanwhile, called for a host of specific federal actions, including a reduction of emissions — and not just carbon-credit trading — in underserved communities and more funding of state and local air quality monitoring.

The American Lung Association also called on the U.S. EPA to set stronger limits on ozone and particle pollution, limits on methane emissions, and “a strong, long-term plan to reduce vehicle emissions.”

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