Top 10 U.S. Cities with Air Pollution Mortality Rates

There has been a major decrease in premature deaths and illnesses caused by air pollution across the U.S. according to a newly released report by the American Thoracic Society and the Marron Institute for Urban Management of New York University.¹ However, there remain pockets across the country, mainly Los Angeles, where the air pollution remains detrimental to one’s health. Over recent years, the Trump administration has slowed the progress made to improve air pollution across the nation.

Data on the “Health of the Air”

The recent “Health of the Air” report is also a culmination of air quality data curated from hundreds of counties throughout the nation. The data focuses on two categories of air pollution: particulate matter and ozone. The ozone gas is made of three oxygen molecules which protect us from the sun’s radiation. Ground-level ozone, however, is a result of industrialization that is detrimental to our respiratory health.

Recorded in the report are estimates of annual number of deaths, serious respiratory illnesses, and missed days of school and work as a result of either category of pollution from 2008 to 2017. Using past data of related studies, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) calculated the chances of people developing pollution-related, fatal conditions such as lung cancer, cardiac arrests, and critical asthma attacks.

The following are the top 10 U.S. cities with air pollution that have the highest mortality rates recorded in the recent report, as of 2017:

Los Angeles – Long Beach – Glendale, California (1,322)
Riverside – San Bernardino – Ontario, California (940)
Bakersfield, California (293)
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (232)
Fresno, California (225)
New York – Jersey City – White Plains, New York – New Jersey (188)
Phoenix – Mesa – Scottsdale, Arizona (152)
Visalia – Porterville, California (131)
Cleveland – Elyria, Ohio (116)
Chicago – Naperville – Arlington Heights, Illinois (122)

In summary, the respiratory health of Americans has improved over the years. There has been a decline in missed days from work and school, as well as serious illnesses harmful to the lungs. The future of air quality, though, remains uncertain given that the Trump-era EPA has not been as vigilant against illicit polluters and have been apathetic about cleaning lead from the water.

Oxygen Concentrators for Pollution

If you have a respiratory condition while living in one of these pockets in the United States where the air quality still needs improvement, try using one of our home oxygen concentrators like the Respironics Millennium M10, which provides 24-hour oxygen therapy from the comfort of your own home. However, if you’re always on-the-go, good portable oxygen concentrators to meet your needs are the Caire Freestyle Comfort or Respironics SimplyGo Mini; they’re both light-weight and durable.

If you’d like to learn more about the current status of the nation’s air quality or inquire about our portable oxygen concentrators for sale, contact one of our knowledgeable representatives to find out more.

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