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The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2010 report finds that a decade of cleanup measures to reductions in emissions from coal-fired powered plants and the transition to cleaner diesel fuels and engines have paid off in cutting levels of deadly particle and ozone pollution, especially in eastern and midwestern U.S. cities, including Atlanta, Cincinnati, Cleveland, New York City, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Washington, DC/Baltimore, MD.

Despite that progress, State of the Air 2010 reveals that more than half the population of the United States still suffers pollution levels that are too often dangerous to breathe. The report finds that unhealthy air remains a threat to the lives and health of more that 175 million people – roughly 58 percent of the population. And, despite progress in many places, the report finds that some cities, mostly in California, had air that was more polluted than in the previous report.

“State of the Air 2010 proves with hard data that cleaning up air pollution produces healthier air,” said Mary H. Partridge, American Lung Association National Board Chair. “However, more needs to be done. We are working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on additional measures that will require even greater clean up of power plants. We are also calling for additional funding to install equipment to clean up the 20 million dirty diesel vehicles currently on the road polluting U.S. cities every day.”

The State of the Air report provides an annual national air quality “report card,” based on the color-coded Air Quality Index, to assign grades to counties. The 2010 report – the 11th annual release – uses the most recent quality-assured air pollution data, collected in 2006, 2007 and 2008. These data come from official monitors for the two most widespread types of pollution: ozone – or smog – and particle pollution – or soot. Particle pollution data are graded according to both year-round and short-term levels. The report ranks cities and counties based on their scores.

State of the Air 2010 includes for the first time population estimates for people living in poverty as a specific at-risk group. Research indicates that people living in lower socioeconomic conditions face greater risk from air pollution. The largest examination of particle pollution mortality nationwide by Johns Hopkins University found in 2008 that low socioeconomic status consistently increased the risk of premature death from fine particle pollution among 13.2 million Medicare recipients. A 2008 study of Washington, DC, found that poor air quality and worsened asthma went hand-in-hand in areas where Medicaid enrollment was high. “State of the Air uses the population data based on the federal poverty definition, but in reality so many more Americans today are low income – and at a greater risk from air pollution,” Ms. Partridge said.