For the ninth consecutive year, Metro Richmond ranks among the cleanest U.S. regions for healthy air, according to the American Lung Association.
The organization’s annual “State of the Air” report found that the region (which includes 13 counties and 4 cities) improved to its best performance for ozone smog and remained unchanged from last year’s best-ever results for both the short-term (daily) and the long-term (year-round) measures of fine particle pollution.
The daily measure for particle pollution earned “A” grades for posting zero days high in this pollutant for the ninth consecutive year.
And for the 14th straight year, the year-round measure at worst matched the previous year’s best-ever result, while for an 11th straight year the region met the national air quality standard.
The report is based upon three years of data, from 2017 through 2019.
Even the worst grade in the metro area wasn’t a bad one: Henrico County’s above average “B” rating for ozone smog, for which the metro area reached its best-ever result.
“Though we applaud this progress, positive results in Richmond are not guaranteed in future years. The area must continue its work to protect the health of people at risk and the nearly 1.3 million residents in the metro area,” said American Lung Association Director of Environmental Health Kevin Stewart. “One day with unhealthy air is one day too many when air pollution levels are high enough to harm health. Even that one day can trigger asthma attacks, heart attacks and stroke, placing children, older adults, and people living with chronic lung and heart disease at particular risk. Ozone and particle pollution are the nation’s most harmful and widespread air pollutants, and both can be deadly. In addition, more exposure to particle pollution is linked to worse health outcomes from COVID-19, including more deaths.”
According to the report, more than 40% of Americans live with unhealthy ozone or particle pollution.
“People of color are significantly more likely to breathe polluted air than white people,” Stewart said. “As the nation works to address climate change and continue reducing air pollution, we must prioritize the health of disproportionately burdened communities.”
Compared with data from last year’s report, the Richmond region experienced fewer unhealthy days of high ozone levels, achieving a new best-ever performance.
Particle pollution is made of tiny particles, so small they lodge deep in the lungs and can enter bloodstream, causing heart attacks, lung cancer and asthma attacks. This image depicts particle sizes compared to fine beach sand and human hair. (Courtesy American Lung Association/U.S. EPA)
Henrico was the most polluted for ozone in the metro area but still recorded its fewest high ozone days on average (just 0.8) in 2017-2019, an improvement from its average of 1.8 days (a “D”) in 2016-2018. The area’s ranking improved to 118th most polluted in the country from 91st worst in last year’s report.
“Ozone pollution can harm even healthy people, but is particularly dangerous for children, older adults and people with lung diseases such as COPD or asthma,” said Stewart. “Breathing ozone-polluted air can trigger asthma attacks in both adults and children with asthma, which can land them in the doctor’s office or the emergency room. Ozone can even shorten people’s lives.”
Particle Pollution in Richmond metro area “State of the Air” 2021 found that year-round particle pollution levels in the Richmond metro area improved or remained unchanged for the 14th straight year, equaling its best ever average annual level and meeting the standard for this pollutant.
The metro area’s ranking also remained unchanged at 157th most polluted in the nation.
For the ninth year in a row, all four jurisdictions in the metro area with daily monitoring data (Charles City, Chesterfield, and Henrico Counties as well as Richmond City) reported zero days (an “A” grade) with unhealthy levels of fine particle pollution. The metro area, therefore, remained on the list of the nation’s cleanest metro areas for short-term particle pollution.
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