The 2026 State of the Air (SOTA) report notes that even after more than half a century of clean air laws, many American communities still face air quality problems. Children are especially at risk. The report states, “We found that nearly half of American children (46 percent, or 33.5 million people under the age of 18) live in counties that received a failing grade for at least one measure of air pollution.”
The report, published annually by the American Lung Association, includes only data from Federal Reference Method (FRM) or Federal Equivalent Method (FEM) monitoring devices. The SOTA includes ozone data from ORCAA’s air monitoring network (Thurston and Clallam counties). But ORCAA’s network of PM monitors relies primarily on a series of nephelometers and the new SensWA sensors for most of its monitoring work. The nephelometers are highly accurate devices and comprise the bulk of Washington’s monitoring network. They’ve been used for decades with great success here and around the world, but are not EPA-designated “regulatory” devices. When it comes to reporting on PM2.5 in the SOTA, much of Washington state – and all of ORCAA’s jurisdiction – is excluded or listed as “data not collected” (DNC). Since January 2025, an FEM PM2.5 monitor in Lacey has collected 1 year of regulatory data. The SOTA requires 3 years of regulatory data before including a site in the report.
Still, ORCAA’s monitoring data shows air quality in our communities is generally good and meets the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). The biggest challenges to air quality in our region include home heating in the winter during cold stagnant conditions, and wildfires in the summer, typically from fires burning outside our region.
To learn more about ORCAA’s history of air monitoring in each of our six counties (Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, Mason, Pacific, and Thurston) as well as ORCAA’s work to protect air quality in those counties, you can find a series of Regional Focus presentations from recent Board of Directors meetings. Each presentation features one county. The videos are available on ORCAA’s YouTube Channel.