OLYMPIA, Wash.-Washington’s most vulnerable populations are hit especially hard by air pollution in areas classified as “overburdened,” by the Department of Ecology.
Several of the high-pollution “overburdened” areas identified by the Department of Ecology are in Central Washington, including the Tri-Cities, East Yakima and the Yakima Valley.
Health data from the state Department of Ecology’s report showed that people in the 16 overburdened areas of Washington face a death rate higher than the state average.
The data used in the report was collected from 2016-2020 and shows that people of all ages in the communities lived an average 2.4 years less than people in the rest of the state, due to health conditions linked to breathing fine particles.
“The findings in this report underscore the importance of the strong air quality and environmental justice provision contained in the Climate Commitment Act,” said Laura Watson, Ecology’s director.
According to the Department of Ecology vulnerable populations face high levels of air pollution in addition to social, economic, and environmental inequities throughout the 16 areas identified throughout Washington as overburdened.
Ecology is working to address the poor air quality in the 16 identified areas of the state and has started to expand its statewide air monitoring network to gather more data.
