BOSTON - Poor air quality, due to ground-level ozone, is expected tomorrow, July 29, in much of southern coastal New England. Air quality modeling and forecasting predicts high levels of ozone in the Connecticut counties of Fairfax, New Haven, Middlesex and New London, in coastal Rhode Island, and along southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod and the Islands. Unhealthy air quality is forecasted today for southwestern Connecticut.
"We expect Wednesday to be an unhealthy air quality day in southern New England," said Curt Spalding, regional administrator of EPA's New England office. "On these days, E.P.A. and the medical community suggest that people limit their strenuous outdoor activity."
Exposure to elevated ozone levels can cause breathing problems, aggravate asthma and other pre-existing lung diseases, and make people more susceptible to respiratory infection. When ozone levels are elevated, people should refrain from strenuous outdoor activity, especially sensitive populations such as children and adults with respiratory problems.
Ground-level ozone forms when volatile organic compounds and oxides of nitrogen (ozone precursors) interact in the presence of strong sunlight. Cars, trucks and buses give off the majority of the pollution create ozone. Gasoline stations, print shops, household products like paints and cleaners, as well as lawn and garden equipment also add significantly to the ozone problem.
When ozone is forecast to be unhealthy, E.P.A. asks the public to take action. The public can help reduce ozone by:
- Using public transportation, car pooling and/or combining trips;
- Avoiding the use of small gasoline powered engines, such as lawn mowers and tractors, chain saws, power washers, string trimmers and leaf blowers.
The ozone standard is 0.075 parts per million (ppm) on an 8-hour average basis. Air quality alerts are issued when ozone concentrations exceed, or are predicted to exceed, this level. So far this year, there have been ten days in New England when ozone concentrations have exceeded the standard. (A preliminary list of this summer's unhealthy readings can be found at http://www.epa.gov/region1/airquality/o3exceed-15.html)
E.P.A. and the New England states provide real-time ozone data and air quality forecasts at www.epa.gov/ne/aqi. This website can also be used to sign up to gain free air quality alerts by e-mail when poor air quality is predicted for a particular area. National real-time air quality data from AirNow is also accessible on smart phones with free iPhone and Android apps, accessible for download at http://www.airnow.gov/.
