Air quality varies across the rest of Iowa, according to American Lung Association report 

Quad Cities residents can’t quite breathe easy.

That’s because their region ranks 25th in short-term particle pollution – a phenomenon, which increases their risk of heart attacks, strokes, asthma attacks and possible early death, according to a new report by the American Lung Association.

Quad Citians join nearly 61 million people across the US, who live in areas prone to unhealthy spikes in particle pollution.

How does air quality in the rest of Iowa stack up? Those results vary in the 19 counties in which enough data was available for scoring.

Clinton, Muscatine and Scott Counties received F grades in particle pollution, while Johnson and Linn Counties scored D’s. Van Buren and Lee Counties scored more exemplary marks – they garnered A’s.

In county rankings of high ozone days, Polk, Palo Alto and Montgomery’s A ratings stood out from the pack, which otherwise received B’s and C’s.

To improve the nation’s air quality, the report recommends a number of actions including:

• Protecting the Clean Air Act
  
• Cleaning up dirty power plants – especially those that burn coal
• Cleaning up fleets of diesel-burning vehicles
• Strengthening ozone and pollution standards
• Cleaning up harmful emissions from tailpipes

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