The air you breath for life could be shortening your life at the same time. That’s the gist of the American Lung Association’s 2024 “State of the Air” report which was released this morning. The organization’s 25th annual 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.
Molly Collins, the Director of Advocacy for the ALA said that there has been “incredible improvement” in the nations air quality since the annual reports were launched, but she said that nationwide, 131 million people still live in places with unhealthy levels of air pollution, and more work remains to be done.
While particulate data wasn’t available for Sheboygan County, the major pollutant – ground level ozone – remains problematic. Last year Sheboygan County experienced 15 days with ozone levels that were unhealthy for sensitive groups, and 3 days considered unhealthy for everyone. That’s an average 11-1/2 fewer days with ozone alerts than in 1996, but only slightly better than the Milwaukee Metro Area which ranked the 26th worst in the nation.
All lakeshore counties in Wisconsin received “F” grades for ozone, which concentrates over Lake Michigan, and is the reason that auto emissions testing requirements were imposed by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1984. Much of those ozone-causing emissions, however, come from states to our south, and so it’s unlikely that local controls alone will succeed in further improving our local air quality.
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