9.No. 3: Visalia, CA
Things are looking up a bit in Visalia-Tulare County, which moved down the list one spot from last year’s second-place ranking for ozone. It stayed in third place, though, for year-round air particle pollution. Tulare County, located in California’s San Joaquin Valley, is home to only about 460,000 people but more than 1 million cattle. Industrial dairies play a big part in local air pollution, which includes high levels of methane emissions.
10.No. 2: Bakersfield, CA
Unlike other cities in California’s smog-trapping San Joaquin Valley, Bakersfield can blame some of its air pollution on oil and gas production. It’s no surprise the area ranked first for particle pollution. One local company admitted to violating the Clean Air Act for greenhouse gas emissions. And the city has some 40,000 residents with heart disease. All that smoggy air can increase their odds of having a heart attack.
