WASHINGTON, April 19 (Xinhua) -- About one out of four Americans are experiencing air pollution that harms their health and shortens their life expectancy, CNN reported Wednesday.
People of color and residents living in Western cities are most affected, according to the latest report released by the American Lung Association.
The report, which focuses on ozone and particle pollution, shows that wildfires that consume hundreds of thousands of acres of land are one driver of the high level of pollution.
Americans are not equally affected by air pollution in the country, as communities of color bear the brunt, said the report.
Communities of color tend to have a weaker voice, so decision-makers place polluting sources in those communities because there is not as much opposition, said Katherine Pruitt, author of the report and the American Lung Association's national senior director for policy. ■
