The American Lung Association said in a report Wednesday that annual levels of particle pollution in Bay Area communities have dropped an average of between 15 and 30 percent since 2004. There has been a 51 percent decline in the number of days with unhealthy ozone levels since 2000. California still ranks among the most polluted places in the nation, according to the report.
The San Francisco metropolitan area, which includes San Jose and Oakland, only moved three spaces over the past year, from 24th to 27th worst, in the number of fine particles wafting in the air. It was the 33rd smoggiest region out of 232 metro areas in the country.
"Air pollution remains a serious health threat to too many Californians," said Jane Warner, president and chief executive officer of the American Lung Association in California. "We're making real and steady progress in the fight for clean air, but unhealthy levels of air pollution still exist, putting the health of California residents at risk."
