Metro Atlanta Still Struggling With Air Pollution, Report Says

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April 24th, 2019

Ozone exists naturally in the atmosphere miles above Earth and plays an important protective role. But at ground level — where it is created by the reaction of sunlight on emissions from vehicles and other sources — ozone is unhealthy. In the American Lung Association report, several metro Atlanta counties received F grades for ozone: DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale.

John Bazemore / Associated Press file

Metro Atlanta shows mixed results on air pollution in the American Lung Association’s latest report, released Wednesday.

The area had fewer days of bad ozone pollution – the main factor in smog – but still ranked 25th among cities for the worst ozone, according to the Lung Association’s 2019 State of the Air report.

Ozone exists naturally in the atmosphere miles above Earth and plays an important protective role. But at ground level — where it is created by the reaction of sunlight on emissions from vehicles and other sources — ozone is unhealthy. Ground-level ozone is especially harmful to children, older adults, people with respiratory illnesses and those who work outdoors.

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