Eugene-Springfield area ranks among worst U.S. cities for air pollution
Experts note that while some air quality factors (like weather and wildfire smoke) are beyond our control, many are influenced by individual choices. Actions such as reducing emissions from wood stoves, limiting car idling can help air quality levels.
EUGENE, Ore. — The Eugene-Springfield area ranks in the top five worst U.S. cities for most polluted air by year-round particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association “State of the Air” 2025 report.
Experts say one of the most significant impacts on air quality is people. Things like wildfire smoke, driving cars or idling them for a long period of time and the use of gas lawn mowers are just some of the factors that build into air quality scores.
The Lane County Regional Air Protection Agency (LRAPA) says weather in general affects air quality. Wildfire smoke plays a role, but even in the colder months when air stagnation is persistent, conditions worsen.
“How much circulation, ventilation, and fresh air we get, we don’t have a lot of control over that, but fresh air is really wonderful,” said Matt Sorensen, public affairs manager for LRAPA. “And when you don’t have it, say in the winter when we have air stagnation, that’s when you start to see that air quality start to really, those numbers, AQI gets higher, air quality’s poor. It’s because we’re not seeing that fresh air and we’re not getting that circulation that we all really enjoy.”
Environmental justice group Beyond Toxics says they’re doing work surrounding indoor air quality, especially when it comes to wood stoves being used to heat homes. However, there is a trade off when you heat your home with a wood stove because air quality could be worse inside your home.
“When you have inversions and low air movement in some of the valley regions, you can build up some smoke from wood stoves that is unhealthy for people to inhale,” said Mason Leavitt, a Geographic Information Systems Analyst and Programs Coordinator with Beyond Toxics.
“But when I’m looking at these numbers, I’m also thinking about, you know, the homes that have wood stoves in it probably have higher PM values than what’s being recorded outside,” they said. “So, I do think that these things are concerning and can be addressed.”
The Lane County Regional Air Protection Agency says the report focuses on the area that has the worst air quality in the area and applies it to the whole area. So the numbers reflected relate more to Oakridge.
The number one pollutant to the area is particulate matter or PM 2.5, which includes dust, soot, smoke, dirt or liquid droplets that are found in the air. But places such as the International Paper or Weyerhaeuser mills work with groups to make their emissions lower.
“We work very closely hand in hand with those permitted sources like an International Paper, like a Weyerhaeuser, and some of these other places that a person might see and go, wow, what do they do?” said Sorensen. “They’re big, is that steam, is that smoke? We work very closely with them because they’re what we would consider a highly regulated source. And so, there is actually a lot of work in machinery that goes into preventing and minimizing the amount of pollution that actually comes out.”
They say anyone that puts more than zero pollution out is also a contributor.
“If they’re putting out any pollution, anything above zero, yes, they’re contributing,” said Sorensen.
Air protection groups say some of the factors that impact air quality are out of people’s control, but there’s an equal amount of factors people can control. So if someone truly cares about the air quality, they need to make decisions to help, rather than worsen the problem.
“The biggest thing you can do is really evaluate, what am I doing to help minimize my impact on it?” said Sorensen. “Because essentially, it’s a lot like putting a lid on a pot. When those things happen, and you put that lid on, and until that lid comes off, we want to minimize how much we’re adding to the air.”
Both groups say having a good ventilation system or air purifier is vital.
“Make sure that you’re not keeping your windows and doors open if the air quality outside’s poor, because we can’t always control what happens outside our doors, but certainly inside try to minimize that,” said Sorensen.
Despite some factors being out of our control, experts say improving air quality starts with everyday choices that reduce pollution both inside and outside our homes.