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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Young, WMNF News <\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tChris Young, WMNF News <\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\tListen:<\/p>\n
A new report from the American Lung Association found air quality slightly worsened in several Florida cities.<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how the Tampa Bay area measured up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Lung Association\u2019s \u201cState of the Air\u201d report analyzed air quality data from 2022 to 2024 to grade regions on unhealthy levels of ozone and particle pollution.<\/p>\n
The report found that the Tampa Bay area was ranked 100th out of 226 for ground-level ozone pollution.<\/p>\n
Ashley Lyerly is the senior director of advocacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLast year, we were 115th, so we\u2019re sort of bumping up to, in the numbers, not so much, but really sort of middle of the pack as it relates to ozone pollution in that ranking. But that, again, being said, we\u2019re not on the clean air list, right? So we\u2019re still, because we are middle of the road, that means that we\u2019re still breathing unhealthy air pollution.\u201d Lyerly said.<\/p>\n
She emphasizes that the data is from 2022-2024, and says rollbacks in protections for air quality from the EPA may lead to lower scores in the future.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In Florida, a bill passed this legislative session that prohibits local governments from issuing policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need to stop rolling back clean air protections that we have at the federal level. And then we also need to allow our local communities in the state of Florida to regulate things like greenhouse gas emissions.\u201d Lyerly told WMNF.<\/p>\n
The Miami-Port St. Lucie-Fort Lauderdale metro area ranked 132nd worst in the nation for ozone pollution.<\/p>\n