Lung Association gives Pinal, Arizona poor air quality grades
Maricopa Monitor
The view towards Phoenix from San Tan Mountain Regional Park on April 16, 2020
The American Lung Association’s 2020 “State of the Air” report found Phoenix ranked among the nation’s worst cities for widespread air pollutants — ozone and particulates — both of which can be deadly.
Both Phoenix and Tucson are heavily impacted by unhealthy ozone and particle pollution and, in fact, the Phoenix metro area ranks in the top 10 in those categories, with the Tucson metro area also worsening in all categories.
The Lung Association’s annual air quality “report card” tracks Americans’ exposure to unhealthful levels of particle pollution and ozone during a three-year period. Once again, the report found that nearly half of all Americans were exposed to unhealthy air in 2016-2018. Pollution places the health of residents at risk, including those who are more vulnerable to the effects of air pollution such as older adults, children and those with a lung disease.
