COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — The Columbus metro area received an “F” grade for its air quality in the latest “State of the Air” report from the American Lung Association.

The report, released on Wednesday, gave Columbus a failing grade for short-term and annual particle pollution, also known as soot. The area received a “C” grade for smog.

The American Lung Association looked at air pollution data from 2021-2023 for the report.

“Unfortunately, too many people in Columbus are living with unhealthy levels of particle pollution,” Kezia Ofosu Atta, advocacy director for the Lung Association in Ohio, said in a statement. “This air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, making people who work outdoors sick and unable to work, and leading to low birth weight in babies.”

The area was graded the same or worse in all three metrics compared to the previous report, but pollution levels are still down significantly since the late 90s and early 2000s, according to the American Lung Association.

Current Central Ohio Air Quality

The American Lung Association urged Ohio lawmakers to address air quality issues.

The report also found that nearly half of Americans are living in areas that received a failing grade for at least one metric of air pollution. More than 42 million Americans live in areas that failed in all three metrics.

The American Lung Association said grades were based on “the number of days a county’s air reaches unhealthful levels on the Air Quality Index,” with each day given a weighted score based on the AQI category (orange days received a weight of 1, while maroon days received a weight of 2.5).

For the annual values, the ALA looked at whether a county’s particle pollution was above or below the Environmental Protection Agency’s standard. If it was below the level, it received a passing grade. If not, it received a failing grade.

The organization explained that its methodology for grading is different than the system used by the Environmental Protection Agency.

“EPA determines whether a county violates the ozone standard based on the fourth maximum daily 8-hour ozone reading each year average over three years,” the American Lung Association wrote. “Multiple days of unhealthy air beyond the highest four in each year are not considered. By contrast, the system used in this report recognizes when a community’s air quality repeatedly results in unhealthy air throughout the three years.”

View the full study and methodology on the American Lung Association website.