9.1% of U.S. Lives in High-Pollution Areas

Almost 23 million Americans live in places that don’t meet federal standards for pollutants like soot and acid aerosols, the stuff that produces that haze in the air, the American Lung Assn. said Friday.

Those people--9.1% of the population in 16 counties across the country, including Los Angeles and Denver--are at risk for respiratory diseases and other health problems from the pollutants, the association said.