Visit AIRNow for tips on what you can do. 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. You can check ozone levels and other daily air quality information by visiting in many areas you can receive air quality notifications through What can I do to reduce ozone? What are the ozone levels in my community?Īir quality forecasts are often given with weather forecasts on handheld devices, online or in the paper or television. Learn more about how ozone harms ecosystems. In particular, ozone can harm sensitive vegetation during the growing season. What are the environmental effects of ozone?Įlevated exposures to ozone can affect sensitive vegetation and ecosystems, including forests, parks, wildlife refuges and wilderness areas. People at greatest risk of harm from breathing air containing ozone include people with asthma. Ozone in the air we breathe can harm our health, especially on hot sunny days when ozone can reach unhealthy levels. What are the harmful effects of ozone? What are the health effects of ozone? Ozone can also be transported long distances by wind, so even rural areas can experience high ozone levels. Ozone is most likely to reach unhealthy levels on hot sunny days in urban environments, but can still reach high levels during colder months. Tropospheric, or ground level ozone, is not emitted directly into the air, but is created by chemical reactions between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). This happens when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources chemically react in the presence of sunlight. Ozone at ground level is a harmful air pollutant, because of its effects on people and the environment, and it is the main ingredient in “smog." Learn more about air emission sources. Learn more about stratospheric, or "good" ozone. This beneficial ozone has been partially destroyed by manmade chemicals, causing what is sometimes called a "hole in the ozone." The good news is, this hole is diminishing. Ozone can be good or bad, depending on where it is found.Ĭalled stratospheric ozone, good ozone occurs naturally in the upper atmosphere, where it forms a protective layer that shields us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. Ozone occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level. Ozone is a gas composed of three atoms of oxygen. Ground-level ozone, the topic of this website, is “bad” because it can trigger a variety of health problems, particularly for children, the elderly, and people of all ages who have lung diseases such as asthma. Stratospheric ozone is “good” because it protects living things from ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Ozone can be “good” or “bad” for health and the environment depending on where it’s found in the atmosphere.
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