No. 10: Pittsburgh-New Castle, Pennsylvania
Population: 2.4 millionShort-term particle pollution rank: 3
Year-round particle pollution rank: 5
Ozone pollution rank: n/a
One-hundred seventy-five million Americans live in counties with unhealthy air.
No. 9: Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Yuba City, Calif./Nev.
Population: 2.4 millionShort-term particle pollution rank: 6
Year-round particle pollution rank: n/a
Ozone pollution rank: 5
Sacramento incentivizes residents to trade in gasoline lawn mowers for electric ones, diesel-powered trucks for hybrid ones and old wood stoves for new ones.
No. 8: Modesto, Calif.
Population: 511,000Short-term particle pollution rank: 9
Year-round particle pollution rank: 14
Ozone pollution rank: 22
Home to the largest winery in the world, operated by E&J Gallo, which also runs world's largest wine bottle factory here.
No. 7: Birmingham-Hoover-Cullman, Ala.
Population: 1.2 millionShort-term particle pollution rank: 5
Year-round particle pollution rank: 7
Ozone pollution rank: 19
Three old coal-fired power plants contribute to high levels of sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, soot and mercury around Birmingham.
No. 6: Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz.
Population: 4.3 millionShort-term particle pollution rank: 14
Year-round particle pollution rank: 1
Ozone pollution rank: 11
Asthmatics used to flock to Phoenix for clean air. Yet today the Valley of the Sun's inversion layer traps pollutants, creating the city's "Brown Cloud."
No. 5: Hanford-Corcoran, Calif.
Population: 150,000Short-term particle pollution rank: 10
Year-round particle pollution rank: 8
Ozone pollution rank: 6
Hundreds of aircraft based at the giant Naval Air Station in nearby Lemoore doesn't help Hanford's air quality.
No. 4: Visalia-Porterville, Calif.
Population: 430,000Short-term particle pollution rank: 8
Year-round particle pollution rank: 3
Ozone pollution rank: 3
Proximity to the giant trees of Sequoia National Park isn't enough to clean Visalia's smoggy San Joaquin Valley air.
No. 3: Fresno-Madera, Calif.
Population: 1.1 millionShort-term particle pollution rank: 2
Year-round particle pollution rank: 6
Ozone pollution rank: 4
Cars, agriculture, petroleum and mega-dairies all contribute to the brown haze that hangs over the San Joaquin Valley.
No. 2: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, Calif.
Population: 17.8 millionShort-term particle pollution rank: 4
Year-round particle pollution rank: 3
Ozone pollution rank: 1
University of Calgary researchers found in 2008 that salty coastal air mixed with sunshine and pollutants helps create unexpectedly high levels of ground-level ozone.
No. 1: Bakersfield, Calif.
Population: 800,000Short-term particle pollution rank: 1
Year-round particle pollution rank: 2
Ozone pollution rank: 2
Hot, dusty and surrounded by California's San Joaquin Valley oil fields, Bakersfield has all the ingredients for the worst air in the nation.
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