As the air quality in both Washington, DC and Maryland has hit code red (pollution levels are harmful to all) this week, a recent report, issued by the Natural Resources Defense Council and Physicians for Social Responsibility, reminds us of the danger of air pollution, in particular the risk to environmental and human health by dumping toxic poisons into our air.

The report used publicly-available and searchable data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Toxics Releases Inventory (TRI) to identify the top twenty states with the biggest polluters and the worst air quality. Using 2009 TRI data, the groups said Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida and Kentucky topped the list with the most power-plant-generated air pollutants. The 2009 data is the most recent available.

Coal and oil-fired power plants were responsible for nearly half of all toxic air pollution from industrial sources in the United States, according to the report. In addition, power plants are the single largest industrial source of toxic air pollution in 28 states and the District of Columbia.

"Air toxics from coal-fired power plants cause cancer, birth defects, and respiratory illness. Just one of those air toxics, mercury, damages the developing brains of fetuses, infants, and small children. It robs our children of healthy neurological development and native intelligence," states Lynn Ringenberg, MD, of Physicians for Social Responsibility.

The report also reinforces the need for protections against harmful air pollution around the country. Some industry and members of Congress are trying to weaken EPA's efforts to update public health laws. Since becoming chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Fred Upton (R-MI) has "engaged in a fully fledged war against the Clean Air Act."

The states on the "Toxic 20" list (from worst to best) are:

1. Ohio
2. Pennsylvania
3. Florida
4. Kentucky
5. Maryland
6. Indiana
7. Michigan
8. West Virginia
9. Georgia
10. North Carolina
11. South Carolina
12. Alabama
13. Texas
14. Virginia
15. Tennessee
16. Missouri
17. Illinois
18. Wisconsin
19. New Hampshire
20. Iowa