Table 1:
U.S. City comparison
| City** | Asthma Prevalence U.S. Rank (2002) | Worst Asthma*† Cities Rank (2005) | % Hispanic (1990) | Homes with Gas (1990) | City Population (1990) | % Estimated Gas Exposure* Population: 1990 (%) | Clear Days Ave. (1997) | Fugitive Air† TCR 1996 (lbs.) | SO2 (1996) (lbs) | NOX (96) (lbs) | VOC†† (96) (lbs) | CO (96) (lbs) | PM10 (96) (lbs) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELP | 6 | 67 | 74 | 136138 | 602951 | 90 | 192 | 134328 | 9026 | 32670 | 33929 | 142337 | 15509 |
| ABQ | 7 | 77 | 38 | 133838 | 426736 | 100 | 168 | 4848 | 4365 | 37505 | 36799 | 223214 | 86547 |
| PHX | 3 | 14 | 20 | 150326 | 1139793 | 53 | 210 | 641475 | 5971 | 154710 | 139195 | 536117 | 68244 |
| TUC | 1 | 61 | 28 | 105824 | 472385 | 90 | 194 | 105970 | 9805 | 49424 | 43436 | 218623 | 35286 |
| LA | -- | 42 | 38 | 957619 | 3498138 | 100 | 143 | 4268754 | 27047 | 328380 | 415073 | 1726306 | 105181 |
| SDG | -- | 82 | 25 | 110982 | 1168364 | 38 | 146 | 402010 | 5391 | 92144 | 113722 | 497027 | 88532 |
| HON | -- | -- | 7 | 7381 | 878044 | 3 | 90 | 318432 | 21380 | 32069 | 23994 | 166518 | 24239 |
| OMA | 24 | 45 | 4 | 117630 | 350602 | 100 | 111 | 615710 | 23477 | 42233 | 36334 | 166820 | 30239 |
| BOS | -- | 66 | 5 | 93179 | 552519 | 67 | 98 | 23556 | 8495 | 28363 | 18606 | 140723 | 15957 |
Estimated 4 persons per household: 4 × Homes with gas; %Gas Exposure = (4 × Homes with gas/population) (X100%).
TCR (Toxic Chemical Release (lbs)) for fugitive air. All quantities are lbs/day (average) for 1996.
VOC: Volatile organic carbon
Based on data in Molecular Similarity/Toxicity Model of Benzene Derivatives and a Similarity Analysis of Environmentally Impacted Regions, vol. II, Dissertation by Gabrielle Rum, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, 1999.
In similarity studies involving these cities with 204 descriptors, El Paso was the most dissimilar of all while Phoenix was the most similar to El Paso.
This table represents only 11 of these 204 descriptors.
ELP El Paso
ABQ Albuquerque
PHX Phoenix
TUC Tucson
LA Los Angeles
SDG San Diego
HON Honolulu
OMA Omaha
BOS Boston
Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America asthma risk, medical, and prevalence factors ranking the worst cities for asthma sufferers. (web MD Medical News)