Twin Cities air clearing, report says

The American Lung Association says air quality is improving in the Twin Cities, and gave the metropolitan area its best ranking yet on particulate pollution caused from vehicle exhaust, power plant emissions and wood burning.

The new report released Wednesday gave six Minnesota counties a higher letter grade than last year for particulate pollution, which is caused by vehicle exhaust, power plants and other sources.

The six counties that improved on particulate pollution were Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmsted, Ramsey and Scott. Three counties -- Anoka, Carlton and Scot -- received a worse letter grade than last year on ozone, the summertime pollutant that forms when sunlight mixes with emissions and fumes from vehicles and industry.

Even with the improvements, there's growing concern about the health impacts of air pollution.

"The more we learn about air pollution, the more we understand that even smaller exposures to air pollution can be very hazardous to health. There are many short-term and long-term effects. And as the science comes in, as the medical knowledge comes in, the federal air quality standards get tougher," said Bob Moffitt, a spokesman for the American Lung Association in Minnesota.

"We don't want to cross that line. And that's something that both the regulators and the regulated agree on," he said. "If we can do something now to get out ahead of this, keep our air quality within federal guidelines, that is very preferable to the alternative."

The report covers the three-year period that ended in 2012. The Twin Cities avoided the association's list of the 25 most polluted U.S. cities, and Duluth ranked eighth in a list of cleanest cities for year-round particle pollution.

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