This North Carolina city has some of the cleanest air in the US, study finds
North Carolina is home to one of the least polluted cities in the country, a new air pollution study finds.
Wilmington was included on a list of places with the lowest levels of harmful particles in the air, according to a report released Tuesday from the American Lung Association.
To come up with its list, the association says it examined data from 2016 to 2018 for potential dangers in the air. The study weighed particle pollution, caused by wildfires and other events, as well as ozone pollution, which is sometimes called smog.
Across the country, the American Lung Association says more restrictions are needed to keep people healthy. California cities dominated the list of most polluted spots in the United States, results show.
In North Carolina, the story is a bit different.
Wilmington, near the coast, was the only city in the state to earn top rankings in all air quality categories, according to the American Lung Association.
For the ninth year in a row, the Charlotte metro area was among the cleanest for “short-term particle pollution,” results show. In the same category, the Asheville region tied at 31st worst in the country, likely due to drought or wildfires, the association said in a news release.
Also, “Wilmington, Fayetteville, Lumberton, Sanford, Hickory, Lenoir, Morganton, New Bern, Morehead City, Rocky Mount, Wilson, and Roanoke Rapids recorded zero unhealthy air days and were named to the cleanest cities list for ozone pollution,” the news release said.
It’s not the first time that the report, called “State of the Air,” has given a nod to Wilmington.
In 2019, the city was tied for the No. 13 spot for cleanest air in the country, the Wilmington Star News reported.
Though Wilmington may have low air pollution, it lies on the Cape Fear River, which has high levels of dangerous chemicals called “per- and polyfluoroalkyl” substances (PFAS).
This year, other areas joining Wilmington in the lung association’s national top four rankings include Bangor, Maine; Honolulu, Hawaii; and the region near Burlington, Vermont.
The results were released during the coronavirus pandemic. Though experts say pollution can increase the likelihood of some respiratory infections, precautions to protect against the spread have led to cleaner air, McClatchy News reported.
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 3:21 PM with the headline "This North Carolina city has some of the cleanest air in the US, study finds."
