Ozone Air Quality Guide

Ozone, 1,3-dipole. Source: Wikimedia Commons.

Air Pollution & Air Quality (main)

Published: August 13, 2011, 12:00 am

Updated: August 22, 2011, 6:36 am

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Topics:

Air Pollution & Air Quality (main) Human Health (main) Environmental Health (main) Environmental Monitoring (main)

Air Quality Guide for Ozone

You may have seen the Air Quality Index reported in your newspaper. This guide provides you with more detailed information about what this index means to you. This guide will help you determine ways to protect your family's health when ozone levels reach the unhealthy range, and ways you can help reduce ozone air pollution.

Air pollution can affect your health and the environment. There are actions every one of us can take to reduce air pollution and keep the air cleaner, and precautionary measures you can take to protect your health.

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United States Environmental Protection Agency

Air and Radiation Washington, DC 20460

EPA-456/F-08-001 March 2008 http://www.airnow.gov

Air Quality Guide for Ozone

Air Quality Index	Protect Your Health
Good	No health impacts are expected when air quality is in this range.
Moderate	Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups	The following groups should limit prolonged outdoor exertion: People with lung disease, such as asthma Children and older adults People who are active outdoors
Unhealthy	The following groups should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion: People with lung disease, such as asthma Children and older adults People who are active outdoors Everyone else should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.
Very Unhealthy	The following groups should avoid all outdoor exertion: People with lung disease, such as asthma< Children and older adults People who are active outdoors Everyone else should limit outdoor exertion.

What You Should Know
About Ozone and Your Health

• Ozone in the air we breathe can harm our health—particularly on hot, sunny days when ozone can reach unhealthy levels.
• Even relatively low levels of ozone can cause health effects.
• People with lung disease, children, older adults, and people who are active outdoors may be particularly sensitive to ozone.
• Ozone exposure may also increase the risk of premature death from heart or lung disease.
• This fact sheet tells you how you can find out when air quality is unhealthy and take simple steps to protect your health.

What is ozone? Ozone is a colorless gas found in the air we breathe. Ozone can be good or bad depending on where it occurs: Ozone occurs naturally in the Earth’s upper atmosphere (the stratosphere), where it shields the Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet rays. At ground-level, ozone is an air pollutant that can harm human health. Where does ground-level ozone come from? Ground-level ozone is formed when two types of pollutants react in the presence of sunlight. These pollutants are known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen. They are found in emissions from: Vehicles such as automobiles, trucks, buses, aircraft, and locomotives Construction equipment Lawn and garden equipment Sources that combust fuel, such as large industries and utilities Small industries such as gas stations and print shops Consumer products, including some paints and cleaners Does my area have high ozone levels? Ozone is particularly likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot sunny days in urban environments. It is a major part of urban smog. Ozone can also be transported long distances by wind. For this reason, even rural areas can experience high ozone levels. The Airnow Web site at airnow.gov provides daily air quality reports for many areas. These reports use the Air Quality Index (or AQI) (shown on the first page) to tell you how clean or polluted the air is. Enviroflash, a free service, can alert you via email when your local air quality is a concern. Sign up at www.enviroflash.info

How does ozone affect health? Ozone can: Make it more difficult to breathe deeply and vigorously. Cause shortness of breath and pain when taking a deep breath. Cause coughing and sore or scratchy throat. Inflame and damage the lung lining. Make the lungs more susceptible to infection. Aggravate lung diseases such as asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. Increase the frequency of asthma attacks. Continue to damage the lungs even when the symptoms have disappeared. These effects may lead to increased school absences, visits to doctors and emergency rooms, and hospital admissions .Research also indicates that ozone exposure may increase the risk of premature death from heart or lung disease. Who is sensitive to ozone? Some people are more sensitive to ozone than others. Sensitive groups include children; people with lung disease, such as asthma, emphysema, or chronic bronchitis; and older adults. Even healthy adults who are active outdoors can experience ozone’s harmful effects. What is an Air Quality Action Day for Ozone? Your State or local air quality agency may declare an Air Quality Action Day for Ozone when ozone levels are forecast to reach unhealthy levels. On ozone action days, you can take simple steps (see below) to reduce the pollution that results in ground-level ozone.

Keep the Air Cleaner

Conserve energy-home at work,everywhere. Turn off lights you are not using. Carpool or use public transportation. When air quality is healthy, bike or walk instead of driving. Combine errands to reduce vehicle trips. Limit engine idling. When refueling: Stop when the pump shuts off. Putting more fuel in is bad for the environment and can damage your vehicle. Avoid spilling fuel. Always tighten your gas cap securely. Office of Air Quality and Radiation (6301A) EPA456-F-08-001 www.airnow.gov March, 2008

Keep your car, boat, and other engines tuned up. Inflate your car’s tires to the recommended pressure. Use environmentally safe paints and cleaning products whenever possible. Follow manufacturers’ recommendations to use and properly seal cleaners, paints, and other chemicals so smog-forming chemicals can’t evaporate. On Air Quality Action Days, you should also: Refuel cars and trucks after dusk,when emissions are less likely to produce ozone. Delay using gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment until air quality is healthy again. Delay using household, workshop, and garden chemicals until air quality is healthy again.

AQI color code	Who is affected?	What is the significance?	What action should people take?
Green	-	Air quality is good	Enjoy activities
Yellow	People who are unusually sensitive to air pollution	Air quality is a concern for people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution	People unusually sensitive to air pollution: Plan strenuous outside activities when air quality is better
Orange	People with lung disease (including asthma), active adults, and children	Air quality is unhealthy for people in sensitive groups	Sensitive groups: Cut back or reschedule strenuous outside activities
Red	Everyone, especially people with lung disease (including asthma), active adults, and children	Air quality is unhealthy for everyone	Everyone: Cut back or reschedule strenuous outside activities Sensitive groups: Avoid strenuous outside activities
Purple	Everyone, especially people with lung disease (including asthma), active adults, and children	Air quality is very unhealthy for everyone	Everyone: Significantly cut back on outside physical activities Sensitive groups: Avoid all outside physical activities

For more information, visit www.airnow.gov

Citation

(2011). Ozone Air Quality Guide. Retrieved from http://editors.eol.org/eoearth/wiki/Ozone_Air_Quality_Guide

1 Comment

Emma Cay wrote: 01-06-2012 02:38:11

Thanks so much for sharing. ozone waste water can be used to do so very many things. Keep up the good work.