ABOUT CLEAR THE AIR TN

What is Clear the Air Tennessee?
Clear the Air Tennessee is a statewide program to improve air quality by changing our driving habits. Clear the Air Tennessee is organized by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), and funded through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ). Combined with other important air quality improvement programs around the state, we're committed to showing Tennesseans how SIMPLE it is to reduce air pollution.

Who can help reduce air pollution?
Clearing the air requires participation from everyone in Tennessee -- that means car drivers, bus riders, truck drivers, bikers, walkers, kids, parents, commuters and employers. Each of us can take steps to change the quality of the air we breathe by making a few SIMPLE adjustments to our transportation habits, and urging others to do the same.

When is air pollution the most dangerous?
Air quality is a concern year-round, but the summer months bring additional air concerns as the hot air essentially bakes pollutants together to create harmful poisons closer to the ground, right where we're breathing.

Where is air quality a problem?
More than half of Tennessee residents live in areas where air pollution could be a health risk. Today 16 Tennessee counties are considered “nonattainment and/or maintenance” areas-meaning the air quality in these areas falls below the national standard for healthy air. Clear the Air is a statewide program, but we're focused on those nonattainment and/or maintenance areas: Anderson, Blount, Cocke, Davidson, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Loudon, Montgomery, Roane, Rutherford, Shelby, Sevier, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson counties. And if you noticed that our four major metropolitan areas are represented in that list, you’re on to something: the vehicles buzzing around those cities are huge contributors to Tennessee's poor air quality.

Why reduce air pollution?
The pollution generated by vehicles can be dangerous to our health, and Tennesseans are breathing it in every day. In fact, the damage caused by inhaling the pollution given off by vehicle exhaust is the equivalent of getting a sunburn in your lungs. Over time, breathing air like ours can cause major health problems, reducing life expectancy by 2 to 3 years.

Due to our rolling landscape and our personal driving habits, Tennessee's air quality is approaching a critical point—so critical, in fact, that our state could lose millions of dollars in federal funding if we don't take steps to Clear the Air. That means no funds for road and highway repairs and projects, leading to heavy traffic congestion. It means fewer new businesses will relocate here, and fewer people will be interested making Tennessee their home or vacation spot. When you take SIMPLE steps to Clear the Air, you improve Tennessee's physical health as well as the health of our economy.