Chester County residents are among the more than 40 percent of Americans living in areas with unhealthy air, according to a new report by the American Lung Association.

After a period when air quality improved nationwide, there is now clear evidence that air quality is worsening again due to several factors being fueled by climate change, said Harold Wimmer, the American Lung Association’s president and CEO.

“This increase in unhealthy air is eye-opening, and points to the reality that the nation must do more to protect the public from serious, even life-threatening harm,” said Wimmer.

The report looked at data from 2015 to 2017 and used color codes to grade air quality. Hazardous air quality was maroon, purple was very unhealthy, and the red areas indicated it was just unhealthy. Meanwhile, orange was not suited for people with sensitive health conditions.

Chester County received an F, with 15 orange, one red, and zero purple days.

In some positive news, Chester County received an A in High Particle Pollution Days with zero orange, red, purple, and maroon days over the observed period.

This made Chester County one of the cleanest counties for short-term particle pollution.

Read the entire report here.

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