DENVER — People in the Denver metro area are breathing some of the most ozone-polluted air in the U.S., the latest "State of the Air" report from the American Lung Association found.
The Denver metro area ranked the sixth most polluted in the nation for the third year in a row. Some of the biggest contributors are the growth of the Denver metro area, more cars on the road and gas production, according to the American Lung Association.
"Those exhausts contribute to ozone precursors in the air, and those precursors... from those pollutants react with the sunlight, and since we get a lot of sunlight out here, there's a good chance for for unhealthy levels of ozone to develop," Torres said.
The geography of the Denver metro area can also contribute the ranking, according to Torres.
"The air coming from the north, sometimes the Northeast. When it comes out of the Northeast and kind of gets trapped in along the front range, it's a little slower to dissipate," Torres said.
The report did find the Denver metro area did improve in particle pollution ranking from "State of the Air" findings last year.
"We think of ozone as smog. We think of particle pollution as soot. So think about like wildfire smoke, for example, as a big contributor," Nick Torres with the American Lung Association said.
This year, the Denver-Aurora-Greeley area ranked 40th in the nation, down from last year's 20th worst. The ranking is based on the worst county's average number of unhealthy days. This year, the Denver metro experienced 4.7 days per year, which is better than 8.2 days the year prior.
But, the report found Denver typically sees a total of three weeks of unhealthy air quality days because of ozone pollution, which is a higher number than a decade ago.
This is a widespread trend. Nationally, 46% of people are living in areas with unhealthy pollution levels, according to the "State of the Air." The American Lung Association is calling on policymakers to take action to improve air quality.
"There's somebody in at least everyone's family that has vulnerable conditions, whether it's elderly or someone who's pregnant, you know that we're all vulnerable to poor air quality," Torres said. "Everybody really can experience those impacts from from ozone pollution, chest tightness, wheezing."
The American Lung Association also recommends everyone make a habit of checking the air quality every day before heading out the door as part of the routine check of the weather.
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