MORGANTOWN — The Morgantown-Fairmont area once again ranked among the nation’s best for air quality, according to the American Lung Association’s 25th annual State of the Air report.
The area was one of the cleanest cities in the nation for ozone pollution for the fifth-consecutive year and daily particle pollution for the 12th consecutive year. The level of year-round particle pollution remains unchanged and earns a passing grade, ALA said.
The nationwide report grades exposure to unhealthy levels of ground-level ozone air pollution, annual particle pollution and short-term spikes in particle pollution over a three-year period. This year’s report, ALA said, includes air quality data from 2020-22 and is updated to reflect the EPA’s new annual particle pollution standard finalized in February.
“Thankfully, the Morgantown-Fairmont metro area is listed as one of the cleanest cities for two measures of the most common air pollutants,” said Aimee VanCleave, ALA director of advocacy. “Unfortunately, across the nation, there are more than 131 million people who live in areas with unhealthy levels of air pollution.
“Climate change is making air pollution more likely to form and more difficult to clean up, so there are actions we can and must take to improve air quality,” she said. “We are also calling on EPA to set long-overdue stronger national limits on ozone pollution.”
The State of the Air report looked at levels of ozone “smog,” the air pollutant affecting the largest number of people in the United States. The Morgantown-Fairmont area ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days — 0 days per year, an A grade, in Monongalia County.
The number of high ozone days has steadily improved since the ALA started compiling the data in 2000. That year was the worst, with 15.8 days. It achieved a passing grade (falling below 3.2 days) for 2008-10, bumped back up to 4.7 for 2010-12, then returned to passing levels for the past five years.
The report also tracked short-term spikes in particle pollution. The Morgantown-Fairmont area’s ranking was based on the area’s worst county’s average number of unhealthy days — 0 days per year, an A grade, in both Marion and Monongalia counties.
The 2000-02 span was the worst, with 5.2 days. After three years of failing grades, it fell below the 3.2-day threshold in for 2003-05, then reaching and remaining at 0 days for 2009-11.
For the second year in a row, the Charleston-Huntington-Ashland (Ky.) metro area ranked among the nation’s cleanest cities for ozone pollution and received an A grade for the measure. The metro area ranked 124th in the nation for the daily measure of particle pollution, with its B grade remaining unchanged from last year’s report. But year-round particle pollution again increased and ranked the area 111th worst in the nation.
“The Charleston metro area still has work to do,” said Aleks Casper, another director of advocacy for the ALA.
Up in the Panhandle, the Pittsburgh-New Castle-Weirton metro area was named one of the worst cities in the nation for year-round particle pollution, although it set its best-ever record for the measure. It ranked 19th among the worst 25 for year-round particle pollution.
The area no longer ranks among the worst 25 metro areas in the nation for daily particle pollution. ALA said that while this reflects an improvement for the area’s ranking, it has posted a smaller number of unhealthy days in past reports and continues to earn a failing grade.
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