Although none of the most polluted cities in the world are located in the United States, that doesn’t mean the air quality here is perfect. In fact, the American Lung Association believes that 60 percent of Americans (roughly 186.1 million people) live in areas where air pollution threatens their lives. The State of the Air 2009 report found that pollution levels in nearly every major U.S. city have increased to unhealthy levels, despite the country’s interest in going green.

The researchers compiled this list based on which cities suffer from the most year-round particle pollution.

Bakersfield, California

Panaramio: John McCall

Pittsburgh/New Castle, Pennsylvania

Panaramio: Vladimir Kharitonov

Los Angeles/Riverside/Long Beach, California

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Visalia/Porterville, California

Panaramio: chsanfino

Birmingham/Hoover/Cullman, Alabama

Panaramio: MatthiasBy

Hanford/Corcoran, California

Panaramio: Kewaneh

Fresno/Madera, California

Panaramio: Chip Stephan

Cincinnati, Ohio

Panaramio: ST314

Detroit/Warren/Flint, Michigan

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Cleveland/Akron/Elyria, Ohio

epa.gov

By Elizabeth Wolfe