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Breath-taking
Premature Mortality Due to Particulate Air Pollution in 239 American Cities

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Top 50 MSA's Ranked by PM-10 Concentration

This table considers Metropolitan Statistical Areas ranked by average annual mean PM-10 concentration and identifies the top 50 MSA's of the 239 MSA's for which we have data. The higher the PM-10 concentration, the greater the risk of premature mortality from heart and lung disease.

The PM-10 concentration reported is the average of the annual mean concentration of PM-10 reported at all official monitoring stations within an MSA over the five year period, 1990 through 1994.

RankMetropolitan Statistical Area Average Annual Mean
PM-10 Concentration
(1990-1994)
(ug/m³)
1 VISALIA-TULARE-PORTERVILLE, CA 60.4
2 BAKERSFIELD, CA 54.8
3 FRESNO, CA 51.7
4 RIVERSIDE-SAN BERNARDINO, CA 48.1
5 STOCKTON, CA 44.8
6 LOS ANGELES-LONG BEACH, CA 43.8
7 PHOENIX, AZ 39.5
8 SPOKANE, WA 38.7
9 RENO, NV 38.5
10 LAS VEGAS, NV 38.3
11 ANAHEIM-SANTA ANA, CA 38.1
12 MEDFORD, OR 37.9
13 ST. JOSEPH, MO 37.6
14 YUBA CITY, CA 37.4
15 STEUBENVILLE-WEIRTON, OH-WV 36.6
16 PROVO-OREM, UT 36.5
17 CLEVELAND, OH 35.6
18 OMAHA, NE-IA 35.5
19 ATLANTA, GA 35.1
20 CHATTANOOGA, TN-GA 34.9
21 PATERSON-CLIFTON-PASSIAC, NJ 34.8
22 SAN DIEGO, CA 34.8
23 BOISE CITY, ID 34.0
24 CHICAGO, IL 33.7
25 ROANOKE, VA 33.7
26 PHILADELPHIA, PA-NJ 33.5
27 DETROIT, MI 33.2
28 SALT LAKE CITY-OGDEN, UT 33.2
29 YAKIMA, WA 33.1
30 CHICO, CA 33.1
31 DECATUR, IL 33.0
32 WATERLOO-CEDAR FALLS, IA 33.0
33 SAN JOSE, CA 32.8
34 KNOXVILLE, TN 32.6
35 NASHVILLE-DAVIDSON, TN 32.4
36 ATLANTIC CITY, NJ 32.4
37 LAREDO, TX 32.4
38 HOUSTON, TX 31.9
39 SACRAMENTO, CA 31.9
40 ST. LOUIS, MO-IL 31.8
41 LAS CRUCES, NM 31.7
42 GADSDEN, AL 31.7
43 MOBILE, AL 31.4
44 NEWARK, NJ 31.4
45 PROVIDENCE-WARWICK-PAWTUCKET, RI 31.4
46 HUNTINGTON-ASHLAND, WV-KY-OH 31.4
47 HAMILTON-MIDDLETOWN, OH 31.3
48 PITTSBURGH, PA 31.0
49 LANCASTER, PA 31.0
50 INDIANAPOLIS, IN 31.0

Metropolitan Statistical Areas are as defined by the Office of Management and Budget for 1980, except for New England, where areas are New England County Metropolitan Areas.

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