Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE D.C. might boast countless monuments, historic artifacts and the White House. But you might have trouble seeing them through a layer or dirt.
A new study by Forbes says the D.C. metro area is the 16th dirtiest urban area in America. Forbes does stretch the metro area to include northern Virginia and Baltimore.
The study is based on Lung Association reporting on air quality, including measures of particulate pollution and ozone pollution. Those figures are then compared with population.
The Lung Association says that these statistics suggest half of the U.S. population lives in places where the air is sometimes unfit to breathe, which contributes to asthma and lung cancer.
The winner (or loser in this case) of this study is Bakersfield, California.
In fact, California is the dirtiest state in America. It has seven cities in the top 10.
Other major cities include Phoenix (#8), Philadelphia (#12), New York (#14) and Houston (#18).
