A new air-quality report finds that Knoxville has cut particle pollution compared to last year’s report.
The American Lung Association’s State of the Air 2014 report shows the Knoxville metro area cut year-round particle pollution, or soot, levels compared to the 2013 report. In fact, the metro area recorded its lowest annual particle pollution levels since the report began 15 years ago, but it still doesn’t meet the national standard in that category.
Knox County got a C-grade for short-term particle pollution, due to too many days of unhealthy particle levels, and the Knoxville metro area got an F-grade because ozone levels worsened.
Still, Ellen Kershaw, Director of Advocacy with the American Lung Association in Tennessee, says the air in Knoxville is cleaner than when the report began. Kershaw cites cleaner diesel fleets and power plants for the improvement.
