Alaska News

Alaska cities receive mixed grades on 'State of the Air' report

When it comes to air quality, the American Lung Association has given Anchorage and Fairbanks mixed grades.

For ozone pollution, Fairbanks is the cleanest metropolitan area in the country, according to the association's annual "State of the Air: 2015" report released Wednesday. But Fairbanks also scored as one of the top ten worst cities for short-term particle pollution, flanked in the rankings by Pittsburgh and Logan, Utah.

The air to the city's south, however, had a cleaner standing. Anchorage tied with Rapid City-Spearfish, South Dakota, and Bismark, North Dakota, as the 10th cleanest for year-round particle pollution. In that category, the association awarded Anchorage an "A" grade. However, the state's largest city also ranked in the "most polluted cities" list at No. 28 of 220 metropolitan areas for short-term particle pollution, the report says.

In compiling the rankings, researchers used Environmental Protection Agency pollution data for a three-year period starting in 2011. The data measures both average pollution over time as well as short-term pollution often triggered by things like droughts, wildfires and, in Fairbanks' case, the use of wood-burning stoves in winter, according to the report. Researches also used hourly ozone data. At ground level, ozone is a harmful air pollutant that makes up smog.

Since last year, Fairbanks' ranking for short-term particle pollution has slightly improved. The city moved from No.7 last year to No. 9 this year -- good news for Alaska's standing in the dirty city category.

But the new ranking did not save Fairbanks from an "F" grade in 2015 report for the short-term pollution. In fact, the report says Fairbanks is one of six cities that set a record for their greatest number of days with unhealthy particle pollution. Fairbanks earned the distinction alongside San Francisco, Phoenix and Reno, Nevada, among others.

That Matanuska-Susitna Borough, which the report did not have enough data for on all the categories, received a D in short-term particle pollution.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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