According to Forbes.com, Atlanta's combination of air pollution and atmospheric chemicals makes it the most toxic city in the country. Forbes said that the city of Atlanta isn't solely to blame for its pollution -- suburbs such as Sandy Springs and Marietta are major contributors to the area's toxicity. Both towns, it said, contain chemical plants, metal coaters and concrete factories.
We live 20 miles north of Atlanta -- this is not good news for us.
Link: America's Most Toxic Cities
Toxic Cities ranking |
Metro Area |
Number of EPA Responses in Principal City |
Number of facilities releasing toxic chemicals |
Pounds of toxic chemicals released in area |
Air Quality Ranking, 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA Metro Area | 58 | 277 | 41,502,855 | 28 |
| 2 | Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI Metro Area | 68 | 281 | 42,051,308 | 22 |
| 3 | Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI Metro Area | 104 | 773 | 77,632,218 | 2 |
| 3 | Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX Metro Area | 50 | 432 | 88,754,384 | 10 |
| 5 | Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD Metro Area | 86 | 341 | 24,693,320 | 11 |
| 6 | Cleveland-Elyria-Mentor, OH Metro Area | 25 | 299 | 24,475,620 | 18 |
| 7 | Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA Metro Area | 99 | 480 | 10,391,461 | 7 |
| 8 | Jacksonville, FL Metro Area | 70 | 73 | 15,164,615 | 37 |
| 9 | Baltimore-Towson, MD Metro Area | 37 | 99 | 29,793,565 | 24 |
| 10 | Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA Metro Area | 28 | 177 | 12,437,004 | 26 |
| 11 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX Metro Area | 34 | 332 | 6,605,651 | 15 |
| 12 | Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, WI Metro Area | 15 | 243 | 11,442,042 | 29 |
| 13 | Orlando-Kissimmee, FL Metro Area | 19 | 63 | 15,773,627 | 38 |
| 14 | Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC Metro Area | 18 | 132 | 15,267,370 | 25 |
| 15 | Kansas City, MO-KS Metro Area | 24 | 139 | 10,427,215 | 21 |
| 16 | Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL Metro Area | 42 | 81 | 2,368,807 | 40 |
| 16 | St. Louis, MO-IL Metro Area | 19 | 211 | 33,051,384 | 4 |
| 16 | Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL Metro Area | 53 | 135 | 4,214,706 | 23 |
| 19 | Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metro Area | 15 | 235 | 22,901,153 | 13 |
| 20 | Pittsburgh, PA Metro Area | 7 | 247 | 81,634,235 | 9 |
| 21 | Indianapolis-Carmel, IN Metro Area | 16 | 127 | 21,990,812 | 17 |
| 22 | San Antonio, TX Metro Area | 17 | 75 | 5,449,175 | 36 |
| 23 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area | 33 | 98 | 17,927,627 | 7 |
| 24 | Columbus, OH Metro Area | 12 | 123 | 5,295,408 | 34 |
| 24 | Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI Metro Area | 12 | 259 | 15,543,283 | 6 |
| 24 | San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA Metro Area | 10 | 127 | 6,145,119 | 34 |
| 27 | Denver-Aurora, CO Metro Area | 26 | 105 | 4,880,332 | 18 |
| 28 | Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TN Metro Area | 10 | 99 | 8,530,127 | 31 |
| 29 | Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH Metro Area | 7 | 278 | 3,106,166 | 20 |
| 30 | Providence-New Bedford-Fall River, RI-MA Metro Area | 4 | 179 | 2,898,776 | 30 |
| 31 | New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA Metro Area | 2 | 452 | 9,897,930 | 5 |
| 31 | Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ Metro Area | 33 | 203 | 3,067,616 | 1 |
| 33 | San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA Metro Area | 17 | 81 | 417,505 | 33 |
| 34 | Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC Metro Area | 6 | 63 | 10,157,973 | 32 |
| 35 | San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA Metro Area | 16 | 77 | 2,425,896 | 27 |
| 36 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA Metro Area | 12 | 135 | 4,225,497 | 16 |
| 37 | Austin-Round Rock, TX Metro Area | 4 | 44 | 660,611 | 39 |
| 38 | Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA Metro Area | 11 | 160 | 2,082,462 | 3 |
| 39 | Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Roseville, CA Metro Area | 13 | 55 | 659,865 | 14 |
| 40 | Las Vegas-Paradise, NV Metro Area | 5 | 50 | 2,075,237 | 11 |
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