"Danger in the Air," a joint publication of the N.C. Public Interest Research Group and the Clean Air Network, ranked the state third in the nation for the number of recorded times the air reached unhealthy smog levels last year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency's eight-hour health standard.
The EPA standard measures exceedances, or the number of unhealthy smog levels, over an eight-hour period of the day when smog levels are highest.
The report, based on information compiled by state air pollution control agencies across the country, states that smog rose to unhealthy levels 239 times in North Carolina last year.
But the report also stated that the number of unhealthy days actually decreased in North Carolina because of uncommonly high levels of rainfall.
The smog level was exceeded on 35 days in 2000, compared to 68 days in 1999.
Across 43 states and Washington, D.C., 7,672 violations of the EPA's health standard were recorded. California produces the most polluted air of all states, according to the report, with 1,217 exceedances.
N.C. Sierra Club spokeswoman Molly Diggins said state leaders need to address the smog issue.
Smog has been blamed for 250,000 asthma attacks statewide. Prolonged exposure can scar the inside of lungs, reducing their filtering capacity and leading to permanent damage.
"It's like getting a sunburn on the inside of your lungs," said Jane Mardoch, spokeswoman for the Clean Air Network.
