Pennsylvania City Named Among Cities With The 'Dirtiest Air' In America

It is not uncommon for cities to posses higher levels of air pollution than rural areas, but some cities are known for having extremly dirty air. Various factors play into a city's level of air pollution such as car emissions, industry waste, temperature, and terrain to name a few. Phoenix, for example, was named the city with the dirtiest air in the entire country due to an abundance of "chemical solvent waste" from multiple industries and car emissions from a growing population. The average fine particulate matter in Phoenix is 10% above EPA standards.

According to a list compiled by Stacker, Pittsburgh had the dirtiest air in all of Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh ranked 44th out of 50 cities and has an average fine particulate matter percentage of 7.5% above EPA standards. This city gets most of its air pollution from local steel plants and car emissions.

Here's what Stacker had to say about the city with the dirtiest air in all of Pennsylvania:

"More than half of Pittsburgh's pollution can be traced to industrial sources like steel plants. Vehicular emissions are also a contributing factor, disproportionately impacting low-income neighborhoods in Allegheny County."

For a continued list of cities with the dirtiest air in the country visit stacker.com.