County level maps: Indiana's air is most polluted; South, Midwest lead list of top 25 polluted states

Indiana is the most polluted state in the U.S., according to county-level maps by HealthGrove ranking the 25 most polluted states, Christina Lavingia reports for HealthGrove. Rounding out the top 10 are Ohio; Kentucky; Tennessee; Alabama; West Virginia; Washington, D.C.; Maryland; Illinois  and Pennsylvania. At No. 11 is Georgia, followed by Virginia, Mississippi, South Carolina, North Carolina, Nevada, Delaware, New Jersey, Arkansas, Minnesota, California, Louisiana, Wisconsin, Michigan and Nebraska. (Air pollution in Ohio)

Using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, HealthGrove analyzed average daily fine particulate matter from 2003 to 2011, Lavingia writes. “PM2.5 particles, classified as a fine air pollutant with an aerodynamic diameter less than 2.5 micrometers, have the ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream. A study published in The Lancet found that for every 10 ug/m3 increase of PM2.5 particles, lung cancer incidences increased by 36 percent. Potential sources of PM2.5 include motor vehicles, power plants, wood burning and other industrial processes.”