ground-level ozone

Tell the EPA you want tighter restrictions on a pollutant that can raise your risk of dying early from heart and lung diseases.

Clearing the air: New EPA regs aim to reduce health-damaging smog.

RODALE NEWS, EMMAUS, PA—If a proposed ruling announced yesterday by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) becomes reality, we could all be breathing much easier this summer. The agency has proposed lowering the allowable level of ground-level ozone, the lung-irritating pollutant also known as smog, to a level that will lower the instances of pollution-triggered asthma, heart disease, and stroke among the 175 million Americans (60 percent of the population) who live in cities with excessive ground-level ozone levels.

THE DETAILS: The new regulations won't force cities and industries to change their polluting ways just yet. But the EPA is accepting public comment for 60 days, after which a final rule with definite ozone levels will be set. However, if the new regulations proposed yesterday are actually passed, it would mean that county and state governments must ensure that ground-level ozone doesn't surpass a rate between 0.060 and 0.070 parts per million (ppm), down from the current requirement of 0.075 ppm. The EPA decided on the 0.060 to 0.070 ppm range in 2008 after reviewing 1,700 studies on ozone levels and public health. But the previous administration raised that limit to 0.075 ppm, due to objections from electricity suppliers and the oil and natural-gas industries, the groups responsible for pumping most components of ozone (such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides) into the air. EPA estimates that the revised levels will save the country anywhere from $13 billion to $100 billion in health-related costs triggered by too much ground-level ozone, such as emergency-room visits and lost productivity at work. Surveys have shown that asthmatic workers report a 33 percent decline in productivity when their asthma symptoms are at their worst, compared with a typical day. The agency is also proposing a range of yet-to-be-determined seasonal ozone limits to protect trees and other plant life, which suffer stunted growth and increased susceptibility to disease after repeated exposure to high ozone levels.