Smog in Davidson County is getting worse, according to the American Lung Association’s annual “State of the Air” report. The report comes amid a federal lawsuit alleging the Environmental Protection Agency failed to comply with national standards for air pollution in cities across the U.S. — including Nashville.
The report gives the Nashville-Davidson County-Murfreesboro metro area an F grade for ozone smog, down from last year’s D grade. However, Davidson, Lawrence, Maury and Sumner counties received a passing “A” grade for daily measures of particle pollution, with the area ranking among the cleanest in the U.S. and making an improvement from last year’s failing grade.
Ozone and particle pollution are linked to asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes, preterm births, impaired cognitive function and — in some cases — premature death, according to the American Lung Association. Particle pollution can also lead to lung cancer.
Communities of color are hit harder by air pollution
These concerns particularly impact people with respiratory diseases and children who are also more susceptible to the health impact of air pollution. The report finds that nearly half of all children in the U.S. are breathing unhealthy levels of air pollution — including approximately 427,343 children in Tennessee and 149,525 children in Davidson County.
Ozone smog forms when gases originating from car tailpipes, smokestacks, factories and other sources react with sunlight. Particulate pollution can be attributed to wildfires, wood-burning stoves, coal plants and diesel engines, among other factors. People of color are also disproportionately affected by air pollution in Nashville, particularly predominantly Black neighborhoods in North Nashville bordering Interstate 40, which are exposed to more car traffic, and as a result, subject to worse air quality.
“Clean air is essential to the health and wellbeing of families across Tennessee,” says Shannon Baker, director of advocacy for the American Lung Association, in a press release. “Children deserve to breathe air that won’t make them sick. Unfortunately, too many people across the state, particularly in several of our metro areas, are living with unhealthy levels of ozone and/or particle pollution. This air pollution is causing kids to have asthma attacks, contributing to chronic health conditions, and making people who work outdoors sick.”
Baker criticizes the EPA for rollbacks of air quality rules and urged state lawmakers to take action to improve air quality.
The “State of the Air” data follows a coalition of environmental and public health groups filing a federal lawsuit on April 13 alleging that under the Trump administration, the EPA failed to implement heightened air pollution standards enacted in 2024. The coalition also filed a motion for summary judgment that requests a court-ordered deadline for the EPA to comply with the standards.
The Southern Environmental Law Center cites recent data showing metro areas across the South, including Nashville, are in violation of the 2024 standard.
“EPA continues to turn its back on communities who should be able to trust that a federal agency will fulfill its responsibilities and comply with legal requirements intended to make our air safe to breathe,” says SELC senior attorney Caroline Cress in a statement. “As the Trump administration inflicts more harm on local communities through delay and inaction on deadly soot pollution, we are asking a federal court to hold EPA accountable to implement its own strengthened standard that will save thousands of lives.”
