Hazardous spikes in particle pollution left some Massachusetts counties with bad grades, according to a new “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association.
“We have more work to do,” said Daniel Fitzgerald, the American Lung Association’s director of advocacy for Rhode Island and Massachusetts. “On the flip side, our year-round average for particle pollution improved to its best-ever level. We’re seeing improvements in some areas and backsteps in others.”
Some of those worst days can be linked to the Canadian wildfires in 2023, he said.
The air quality across Massachusetts has steadily improved in recent years, but the report shows daily levels of particle pollution, or soot, and smog worsened in some counties.
This year’s report covers 2022 to 2024, and grades all U.S. counties and metropolitan areas based on unhealthy levels of particle pollution and ground-level ozone pollution, commonly known as smog.
“Unfortunately, across the nation, about half of children living in the United States are breathing unhealthy levels of air pollution — and that includes over 170,000 kids right here in Massachusetts,” said Fitzgerald.
David Hill, a pulmonary physician at Waterbury Pulmonary Associates in Waterbury, Connecticut, said people are vulnerable to health issues depending on their demographics like age and where they live.
“People who live in highway corridors or close to industrial areas,” said Hill, who also chairs the board of directors for the American Lung Association. “Those who are occupationally exposed because they’re working construction, landscaping or activities where even when air quality is bad, their job is outdoors.”
Particle pollution is a mixture of solid and liquid droplets that are suspended into the air from any source that burns fuel, including smog, car exhaust and wildfires.
Children and elderly people are more vulnerable to the health harms of poor air quality, which can lead to asthma, heart attacks, strokes and lung cancer. The report also finds that people of color have historically had to live in areas with poor air quality, making them more susceptible to health issues caused by air pollution, like asthma, diabetes and heart disease.
Hill advises people to pay attention to the daily air quality in the weather report.
“People should really plan outdoor activities — particularly exercise, where you’re breathing more or sending your kids out to play — around times when the air quality is going to be bad,” he said.
While the Trump administration and the EPA has sought to loosen federal clean air regulations, Fitzgerald said Massachusetts is making strides to to improve its air quality.
“If the air outside of our home is harmful to us, there’s ways that we can stay inside and reduce our use of transportation or other pollutant sources. There is a lot of work right now on ensuring a rapid transition to zero-emission vehicles,” he said. “Those two pieces together are really important in addressing this at the source.”
