Ozone Pollution
EPA releases new ozone standard: shows Southern air still suffering from smog
Because their lungs are still developing, children are most at risk from asthma, which can be triggered by ozone pollution.
New standards released by the Environmental Protection Agency show that more cities than ever before in in the South have unhealthy levels of ozone.
EPA's new ozone standard, released in March, 2008, standards go further to protect the public’s health from ozone pollution, but fall short of the recommendations of public health professionals and EPA’s own scientists which recommended stronger protections.
Under the new standard, cities like Atlanta, Raleigh, Charlotte, Knoxville and Birmingham are expected to remain in violation of the federal standard, otherwise known as being in “nonattainment.” However, smaller cities including Asheville, North Carolina, Macon, Georgia, Charlottesville, Virginia and Johnson City, Tennessee will also likely be added to the list. These areas will face deadlines to reach the new standard or risk federal sanctions including tighter smokestacks controls and the possible loss of federal highway money.
Under the Clean Air Act, the EPA must set air quality standards at levels that protect public health, including sensitive populations, with an adequate margin of safety. In 1997, EPA set the national air quality standard for ozone at 0.08 parts per million (ppm) averaged over an eight hour period. The standard announced today is a slightly more stringent 0.075 ppm. However, in 2006, an EPA panel of scientists and public health experts unanimously recommended strengthening the ozone standard even lower, to within the range of 0.060 to 0.070 ppm, to adequately protect public health.
In addition to coal fired power plants, cars and trucks are among the biggest sources of ozone pollution in the South. To improve air quality, North Carolina must focus on strategies to reduce how much and how far its citizens drive such as investing in transportation alternatives and coordinating transportation and land use planning to reduce sprawl.
Ozone pollution, also known as smog, is known to trigger asthma attacks,
reduce lung capacity, and has even been linked to heart disease and premature
death. At its worst on hot, dry weather, ozone pollution causes officials
to warn children and the elderly to stay indoors on many summer days. Children,
whose respiratory systems are still developing, risk permanent loss of
lung capacity through prolonged exposure to polluted air. For senior citizens,
the natural decline in lung function that occurs with age is worsened by
air pollution.
