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How Ground-level Ozone Affects the Way We Live and Breathe

Published by the US EPA 
Office of Air Quality Planning & Standards 
November 2000

Ground-level ozone is an air pollutant that causes human health problems, and damages crops and other vegetation, and it is a key ingredient of urban smog.

traffic photo [courtesy of EPA - Environmental Protection Agency]Table of Contents
Ground-level Ozone: What is it? Where does it come from?
Chief Causes for Concern
Health and Environmental Impacts of Ground-level Ozone


Ground-level Ozone:
What is it? Where does it come from?

 

Ozone (O3) is a gas composed of three oxygen atoms.  It is not usually emitted directly into the air, but at ground level is created by a chemical reaction between oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of heat and sunlight.  Ozone has the same chemical structure whether it occurs miles above the earth or at ground level and can be "good" or "bad," depending on its location in the atmosphere.  "Good" ozone occurs naturally in the stratosphere approximately 10 to 30 miles above the earth's surface and forms a layer that protects life on earth from the sun's harmful rays.  In the earth's lower atmosphere, ground-level ozone is considered "bad."

VOC + NOx + Heat + Sunlight = Ozone

Motor vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of NOx and VOC, that help to form ozone.  Sunlight and hot weather cause ground-level ozone to form in harmful concentrations in the air.  As a result, it is known as a summertime air pollutant.  Many urban areas tend to have high levels of "bad" ozone, but even rural areas are also subject to increased ozone levels because wind carries ozone and pollutants that form it hundreds of miles away from their original sources.


Chief Causes for Concern

Ground-level Ozone

  • Triggers a variety of health problems even at very low levels
  • May cause permanent lung damage after long-term exposure
  • Damages plants and ecosystems

The summertime pollutant

Peak ozone levels typically occur during hot, dry, stagnant summertime conditions.  The length of the ozone season varies from one area of the United States to another.  Southern and Southwestern states may have an ozone season that lasts nearly the entire year.

Ozone can be transported over long distances

Ozone and the chemicals that react to form it can be carried hundreds of miles from their origins, causing air pollution over wide regions. Millions of Americans live in areas where ozone levels exceed EPA's health-based air quality standards, primarily in parts of the Northeast, the Lake Michigan area, parts of the Southeast, southeastern Texas, and parts of California.

ozone transport figure [courtesy of EPA - Environmental Protection Agency]

Ozone and the pollutants that form it can cause air quality problems hundreds of miles away.


Health and Environmental Impacts of Ground-level Ozone

Ground-level ozone even at low levels can adversely affect everyone.  It can also have detrimental effects on plants and ecosystems.
lungs [courtesy of: EPA - Environmental Protection Agency] Health Problems
  • Ozone can irritate lung airways and cause inflammation much like a sunburn, and other symptoms include wheezing, coughing, pain when taking a deep breath, and breathing difficulties during exercise or outdoor activities. People with respiratory problems are most vulnerable, but even healthy people that are active outdoors can be affected when ozone levels are high.
  • Repeated exposure to ozone pollution for several months may cause permanent lung damage.  Anyone who spends time outdoors in the summer is at risk, particularly children and other people who are active outdoors..
  • Even at very low levels, ground-level ozone triggers a variety of health problems including aggravated asthma, reduced lung capacity, and increased susceptibility to respiratory illnesses like pneumonia and bronchitis.
plant [courtesy of: EPA - Environmental Protection Agency] Plant and Ecosystem Damage
  • Ground-level ozone interferes with the ability of plants to produce and store food, which makes them more susceptible to disease, insects, other pollutants, and harsh weather. 
  • Ozone damages the leaves of trees and other plants, ruining the appearance of cities, national parks, and recreation areas.
  • Ozone reduces crop and forest yields and increases plant vulnerability to disease, pests, and harsh weather.

Reference: http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/ozone/index.html


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