Add It Up: Local Lungs
Percent of Americans who live in counties with unhealthful levels of ozone or particle pollution: 40
Rank of Metro Atlanta among cities most polluted by year-round ozone: 12
Rank of Metro Atlanta among cities most polluted by year-round particle pollution: 6
Rank of Plant Bowen, a Georgia Power coal electricity plant in Cartersville, among national producers of smog-causing sulfur dioxide: 1
Days in 2007 when Atlanta’s air quality was rated “Good” based on Environmental Protection Agency standards: 113
Days in 2000 when Atlanta’s air quality was rated “Good” based on EPA standards: 76
People in Atlanta’s five core counties with asthma or chronic bronchitis: 384,547
Population of metro Atlanta in 2007: 4,029,400
Projected population of metro Atlanta area in 2030: 5,261,534
Sources: American Lung Association, Atlanta Regional Commission, Environmental Integrity Project, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Environmental Protection Division.