As you consider moving your family to a new location, have you given any thought to the quality of the air? Did you know that more than 154 million people throughout the United States are threatened by poor-quality air? You might expect cities like Los Angeles and Pittsburgh to be among such places, but you may be surprised at others.
Year-round exposure to high levels of polluted air can lead to heart and lung disease – and potentially death. So, why would you not be concerned about the air quality of any place you might be thinking of moving to? We found that almost half of the country’s population lives in areas with unhealthy air quality. Poor air quality could be particle pollution or ozone pollution.
What is the U.S. doing to counteract this problem? First of all, the American Lung Association wants to lower the air quality standard and set up more streamlined standards and requirements. But until they do, it is important to know if the city you are thinking of moving to is considered to have dangerous air quality or not.
Here are eight of the cities the 2011 ‘State of the Air’ Report considered to be the worst for particle pollution:
- Bakersfield, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Visalia, CA
- Hanford, CA
- Fresno, CA
- Pittsburgh, PA
- Birmingham, AL
If you are thinking of moving and have health concerns already, you may want to do a little more research about the air quality in your prospective new town. This is especially true if you or someone you love suffers from asthma or allergies.
Lance Grooms
