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Charlotte named one of America's smoggiest cities

Forget Los Angeles or Atlanta, Charlotte is getting a bad rap for smog. Two groups are hoping you'll take notice and join the fight.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Forget Los Angeles or Atlanta, Charlotte is getting a bad rap for smog. Two groups are hoping you'll take notice and join the fight.

There is a reason state environmental advocates chose Plaza Presbyterian Day School to talk about air quality. They say it is children, primarily, who are hurt by ground level ozone.

Charlotte physician Dr. Jessica Saxe joined Clean Air Carolina to reveal a new report that ranks Charlotte with some of the smoggiest cities in the country.

Air pollution is considered to cause 100,000 asthma attacks, she said adding, and 300,000 missed school days in children in North Carolina each year.

Charlotte has had 21 unhealthy air days as of august 2011 that's more than all but seven other cities across the country.

Los Angeles is number one and this year Charlotte is number 8. But Sarah Gay, who suffers from asthma herself, says the situation is worse than reported.

Many of the code yellow ozone days we experienced over the past couple of years were really code orange in terms of their real impact, Gay said.

The blame spreads from industry to automobiles and recently, a finger pointed at the Obama administration for delaying new EPA air quality standards until 2013.

To these women, it is about health. Their passion is to clear the air these children breathe.

The groups are also fighting a bill up for a vote this week in congress called the Train Act. Supporters say it will save jobs and keep energy prices down by limiting some of the EPA's control.

But opponents worry it'll delay critical clean air rules. Representative Sue Myrick is one of the co-sponsors.

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