That Hacking Sound You Heard Was Me Coughing Up My Lung

CBS has posted the American Lung Association's State of the Air Report for 2006, measuring particulate pollution including ozone.

Cheyenne WY has the cleanest air... probably because no one lives there.

Pittsburgh ranks too... but not on the clean side:

1. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
2. Bakersfield, Calif.
3. Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pa.
4. Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
5. Fresno-Madera, Calif.
6. Detroit-Warren-Flint, Mich.
7. Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
8. Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, Ohio
9. Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.
9. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, Ga.-Ala.
11. Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, Ill.-Ind.-Wis.
12. Weirton-Steubenville, W.Va.-Ohio
13. York-Hanover-Gettysburg, Pa.
13. St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, Mo.-Ill.
13. Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, Ohio-Ky.-Ind.
16. New York-Newark-Bridgeport, N.Y.-N.J.-Conn.-Pa.
16. Lancaster, Pa.
18. Merced, Calif.
18. Canton-Massillon, Ohio
20. Charleston, W.Va.
21. Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, D.C.-Md.-Va.-W.Va.
22. Reading, Pa.
22. Hagerstown-Martinsburg, Md.-W.Va.
24. Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, Ind.
25. Louisville-Elizabethtown-Scottsburg, Ky.-Ind.

Yikes. How did we get paired with New Castle? What a shame.

Anyway, from the press release:

“In the eastern United States, where dirty power plants have been polluting the air for decades, efforts to control particle pollution are making a difference in the lives of people at risk from exposure to unhealthful air,” said Janice Nolen, director, national policy at the American Lung Association.

Kinda makes you wonder how bad it would have been if smoke control hadn't been implemented back in the day.

If you're a real self-loather, you might want to check out the County's air report card.