LOS ANGELES: California has the most polluted cities in the US, a report on Wednesday said, as President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to force the state to weaken its vehicle emissions standards.
The study published by the ‘American Lung Association’, which covers the period from 2014 to 2016, the year before Trump took office, said Los Angeles remained the city with the worst ozone pollution, and ranked fourth in terms of year-round particle contamination.
Bakersfield, California, is number two for ozone pollution, also maintained its position as the city with the worst short-term particle pollution.
That city and nearby Fresno and Visalia are subject to emissions from the powerful agricultural and petroleum industries.
San Diego and Sacramento were also among the cities that were most contaminated by ozone.
Outside of California, whose roughly 40 million residents make it the country’s most populous state, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Denver, New York and Houston had the worst ozone pollution.
Pittsburgh, Lancaster and Philadelphia, all in the northeastern state of Pennsylvania, along with Cleveland, Indianapolis and
Detroit, had the worst yearround particle pollution.
“The
United States must continue to fight climate change and support and enforce the Clean Air Act to protect the nation from unhealthy air,” the report stated