The Northeast Ohio area remains one of the worst in the country for air pollution, according to the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” report released earlier this week.
The Cleveland-Akron-Canton region ranked 10th worst out of 220 metropolitan areas nationwide for year-round particle air pollution, despite recording its best levels in 16 years.
If you live in Medina County, the air you breathe needs your support. Even though Medina County fares better than Summit County, with a “B” rating versus a “D” rating, there is still room to improve the air quality.
Improvements have been made in mile-per-gallon gas standards and the clean up of diesel engines in buses, boats, trucks and trains — all of which help reduce ozone levels.
There are other things you can do to help improve the air you breathe. Asking Congress to protect the air we breathe, petitioning President Barack Obama, telling your local lawmakers to protect the Clean Air Act and letting the EPA know you want less carbon pollution in the air from existing power plants. More information on these suggestions can be found here: http://www.fightingforair.org/take-action/.
Overall, the Cleveland-Akron-Canton area:
– Ranked 27 for high ozone days out of 220 metropolitan areas
– Ranked 32 for 24-hour particle pollution out of 220 metropolitan areas
– Ranked 10 for annual particle pollution out of 220 metropolitan areas
Detailed explanations of the rankings can be found here: http://www.stateoftheair.org/2015/states/ohio/medina.html.
