Ozone and Your Health: Protecting Yourself

Ozone

Protecting Yourself

What should I do to protect myself from ozone?

Pay attention to the air quality forecast. The NC Division of Air Quality has an excellent forecasting system for bad air quality days. This is system is called the Air Quality Index. Those forecasts are available on the web at http://daq.state.nc.us/Ozone/. Local weather reports also carry the forecast and other media outlets also report the forecast. The forecast is easy to understand. It is based on a color scale--with green being good and other colors forecasting the potential for problems.

You should plan your days around these forecasts. You should also plan your children's days around these forecasts. On days when the forecast isn't good, you should minimize your exposure during 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m., when ozone levels are highest. This is especially important for sensitive individuals. Even healthy adults should think twice about jogging along a heavily traveled road during rush hour.

What does the Air Quality Index look like?

Air Quality	Weather Conditions	Recommended Actions	Health Effects
Good AQI: 0-50 (Green)	Cool summer temperatures Windy conditions Significant cloud cover Heavy or steady precipitation	Keep cars and boats tuned up Use environmentally safe paints and cleaning products Conserve electricity-set A/C to highest comfortable level	No health effects are expected.
Moderate AQI: 51-100 (Yellow)	Temperatures in the upper 70's to lower 80's Light to moderate winds Partly cloudy or mostly sunny skies Chance of rain or afternoon thunderstorms	Keep cars and boats tuned up Use environmentally safe paints and cleaning products Conserve electricity-set A/C to highest comfortable level	What are the possible health effects? Unusually sensitive people (active children and adults, people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, and others who are unusually susceptible) should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion. What can I do to protect my health? When ozone levels are in the moderate range, consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. if you are unusually sensitive to ozone.
Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups AQI: 101-150 (Orange)	Temperatures in the 80's and 90's Light winds Mostly sunny skies Slight chance of afternoon thunderstorms	Limit daytime driving Limit vehicle idling Refuel vehicles after dusk Don't "top off" your gas tank Avoid congested periods Use water-based paints Use transit or carpool Bike or walk for short trips Use newest or best maintained car Combine trips and share rides Postpone using gasoline mowers Barbecue without starter fluid	What are the possible health effects? If you are a member of a sensitive group, you may experience respiratory symptoms (such as coughing or pain when taking a deep breath) and reduced lung function, which can cause some breathing discomfort. What can I do to protect my health? If you are a member of a sensitive group, limit prolonged outdoor exertion. In general, you can protect your health by reducing how long or how strenuously you exert yourself outdoors and by planning outdoor activities when ozone levels are lower (usually in the early morning or evening). You can check with your State air agency to find out about current or predicted ozone levels in your location. This information on ozone levels is available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/airnow/
Unhealthy AQI: 151-200 (Red)	Hot, hazy, and humid Stagnant air Sunny skies Little chance of precipitation	Limit daytime driving Limit vehicle idling Refuel vehicles after dusk Don't "top off" gas tank Avoid congested periods Use water-based paints Use transit or carpool Bike or walk for short trips Use newest or best maintained car Combine trips and share rides Postpone using gasoline mowers Barbecue without starter fluid	What are the possible health effects? At this level, anyone could experience respiratory effects. If you are a member of a sensitive group, you have a higher chance of experiencing respiratory symptoms (such as aggravated cough or pain when taking a deep breath), and reduced lung function, which can cause some breathing difficulty. What can I do to protect my health? If you are a member of a sensitive group, avoid prolonged outdoor exertion. Everyone else, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion. Plan outdoor activities when ozone levels are lower (usually in the early morning or evening) You can check with your State air agency to find out about current or predicted ozone levels in your location. This information on ozone levels is available on the Internet at http://www.epa.gov/airnow/.
Very Unhealthy AQI: 201-300 (Purple)	Hot and very hazy Extremely stagnant air Sunny skies No precipitation	Limit daytime driving Limit vehicle idling Refuel vehicles after dusk Don't "top off" gas tank Avoid congested periods Use water-based paints Use transit or carpool Bike or walk for short trips Use newest or best maintained car Combine trips and share rides Postpone using gasoline mowers Barbecue without starter fluid	Sensitive and healthy individuals likely to experience moderate to severe effects like cough, painful and impaired breathing, and lung function Sensitive groups -avoid outdoor activity Healthy population -limit outdoor exertion -avoid outdoor exposure 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM
AQI refers to the Air Quality Index. An AQI Calculation Table is available online to convert raw ozone concentrations to the Air Quality Index. The weather conditions listed above are common weather types associated with the respective air quality levels. A combination of part or of all these weather conditions could lead to a certain level of observed air quality.

How is ozone measured in North Carolina?

The NC Division of Air Quality (DAQ) maintains monitors across the state. The N.C. ozone standard is 0.075 parts per million over an eight hour period. More information on DAQ's monitoring program is available at http://daq.state.nc.us/monitor/.

Where and when am I likely to find high ozone readings in North Carolina?

Ozone is primarily a hot weather problem, with most high readings occurring in June, July, and August. It is also highest in urban areas with lots of cars like Charlotte, the Triangle, the Triad and Fayetteville, but high levels have also been recorded in the Great Smoky Mountains.

In the urbanized areas, problems are more likely from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. In the mountains, the problem usually occurs after 7:00 p.m.

What are the human costs of high ground level ozone in North Carolina?

Dr. Rick Langley and Dr. Luanne Williams with the NC Division of Public Health estimate that between April and October of 1997, there were 868 to 1,900 respiratory-related hospital admissions in NC at a cost of $8.7 million to $19 million.

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Page last updated on July 09, 2008