Fairfield, 海角换妻, is among the 25 most polluted counties in the U.S. for ozone pollution, according to the annual State of the Air report from the American Lung Association.
Ruth Canovi, the association鈥檚 director of advocacy in 海角换妻, said year after year, Fairfield County used to have the worst ozone pollution east of the Mississippi.
鈥淭his year, actually, there was one metro area that has worse worsening ozone than we do,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut that's not because we've improved. That's because they worsened.鈥�
Cook County, Illinois, is now at the top of this unfortunate list.
鈥淔airfield County has certainly the worst ozone pollution, or smog pollution, in all of New England,鈥� Canovi said.
Ozone smog and daily particle pollution worsened in the New Haven, Hartford and the Waterbury metro area, according to the report. Unhealthy days for short-term particle pollution more than tripled in Litchfield County.
鈥淏oth ozone pollution and particulate matter pollution 鈥� they're two of the most widespread and dangerous air pollutants,鈥� Canovi said. 鈥淭hey can cause asthma attacks, respiratory and cardiovascular harm, including heart attack and stroke and even early death.鈥�
Even relatively low levels of ozone can cause health effects, .
Fairfield County accounts for about 25% of 海角换妻's population.. Compared to the rest of 海角换妻, according to the report, the county had the most pediatric asthma cases (15,463); adult asthma (81,758); chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (35,190); lung cancer (537); and cardiovascular diseases (56,117).
鈥楾he air quality has gotten worse鈥�
Across 海角换妻, people working in outdoor jobs, like construction and landscaping, and unhoused populations and those living close to highways and industrial sites continue to be disproportionately impacted, said Dr. David Hill, a pulmonary and critical care physician at Waterbury Hospital.
鈥淭he air quality has gotten worse and more patients are coming in with increased trouble breathing on hot and humid days, when the air quality is worse,鈥� he said.
Hill recalled higher patient volumes and new onset asthma during the , and is concerned by the current .
More than 125 million people live in U.S. counties with 鈥淔鈥� grades for ozone smog. And 93 additional counties earned an 鈥淔鈥� in this year鈥檚 report (2021-2023 data), according to the American Lung Association, which has published its annual air quality data since 2000.
This annual 鈥渞eport card鈥� tracks exposure nationwide to unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution. The latest data showed that 77 million people in the U.S. 鈥� more than one-fifth of the nation鈥檚 total population 鈥� live in counties with 鈥淔鈥� grades for particle pollution.
Climate change to blame
Canovi said climate change takes much of the blame.
鈥� was passed in the 1970s, and the air has gotten better,鈥� she said. 鈥淗owever, we know that climate change is making it harder for us to clean up the air, so we really need to do all that we can to reduce emissions from fossil fuel sources.鈥�
Canovi urged people to pay attention to air quality. 鈥淲e want them to take precautions when they know their health is at risk,鈥� she said.
Tools to use
The provides daily air quality reports for many areas. These reports use the Air Quality Index (or AQI) to tell you how clean or polluted the air is.
EnviroFlash, a free service, can alert you via email when your local air quality is a concern. Sign up at .
