A new report shows that some of the nation's most polluted cities are in Southern California, four of which call the Inland Empire home.
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The study, conducted by IQAir, analyzed the fine particulate matter concentration over cities across the United States, revealing that Ontario was ranked as the worst, followed closely by Bloomington, Huntington Park, San Bernardino and Fontana, which round out the top five. Glendora was ranked No. 8 on the list, while two other central California cities — Visalia and Hanford — were also in the top ten.
Fine particulate matter, which is also known as PM2.5, can cause serious health risks when inhaled, including lung and heart disease and reproductive issues. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, PM2.5 can come from a variety of sources, including cars, construction sites, unpaved roads, smokestacks or fires.
It's likely a combination of these factors that helped create such a high level of pollution over much of Southern California, especially when one considers the daily bumper-to-bumper traffic all over freeways.
"We have so many vehicles, trucks, cars and buses," said Billl Megavern, a Policy Director at the Coalition for Clean Air who says that much of Los Angeles' pollution lands in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties because of the wind blowing from the west. "Los Angeles has the highest fine particulate matter annual average of the 25 most populated U.S. cities."
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