Even though the regionís air quality improved last summer, the air quality in Rowan and Cabarrus counties and the surrounding region has consistently been ranked among the worst in the nation.

The American Lung Associationís recent Annual Pollution Rankings Report issued a grade of F for this area and ranked Rowan County as the 13th worst county in the United States for ground-level ozone pollution. Metro Charlotte, which includes Cabarrus, also received a grade of ěFî and was ranked as the eighth worst metropolitan area in the nation.    
 
The report includes air pollution data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over three consecutive years — from 2005-2007.  The data for the report was gathered from some 4,000 air pollution monitoring stations nationwide. Two of the monitoring stations are located in Rowan County near the Cabarrus County line