Study shows more than 176,000 Kentucky children exposed to dangerous air pollution

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A new report from the American Lung Association finds thousands of children in Kentucky are breathing unhealthy air with conditions getting worse in the Louisville Metro area.

The association's latest “State of the Air” report shows more than 176,000 kids across Kentucky are exposed to dangerous pollution levels.

The Louisville region, which spans from Clarksville, Indiana to Elizabethtown, Kentucky, now ranks 22nd worst in the nation with a grade F for ozone pollution (smog) compared to 29th last year. The worse county was Jefferson County, Kentucky which received a grade F for the worse value for ozone smog. Jefferson County was the only county in the state with a grade F in ozone pollution.

The report studied ozone smog and particle pollution, also known as soot, over a three-year period from 2022-2024, according to a release.

In addition, the Louisville area ranked 89th in the nation for the worse short-term particle pollution with the worst county in the area, Clark County, Indiana, receiving a grade D.

To compare, The Lexington-Fayette-Richmond-Frankfort, Kentucky area ranked 143rd worst in the nation with a grade B for ozone pollution, an improvement from last year's 130th ranking.

Health experts warn air pollution can trigger asthma attacks, heart problems, premature births, and long-term lung damage, especially in children whose lungs are still developing.

“Clean air is essential to the health and wellbeing of families across Kentucky. Children deserve to breathe air that won’t make them sick,” Shannon Baker, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, said in a release.

Baker said the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) scale back of critical healthy air rules are effecting residents.

"We urge Kentucky policymakers to take action to improve our air quality and we are calling on everyone to tell EPA that our kids' health counts," Baker said in the release.

Nationwide, the report found 33.5 million children in the U.S. are living in areas with failing air quality grades.

To read the full State of the Air report, click here.