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Summer Ozone Season Begins June 1

Front Range residents asked to take simple steps to help reduce ozone-causing emissions.

Denver, Colo. (May 31, 2005) – The summer ozone season for Colorado’s Front Range region begins June 1.

From June 1 through August 31, the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) is asking Front Range residents, local governments and businesses to take voluntary action to reduce ozone pollution in the area. These small steps will be critical on Ozone Action Alert days, when meteorologists from the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) expect weather conditions to lead to increased ground-level ozone concentrations in the metropolitan-Denver and Front Range region.

Ground-level ozone pollution is formed when emissions from everyday items combine with other pollutants and “cook” in the heat and sunlight. Sources of such emissions include local industry, gasoline-powered vehicles and lawn equipment, and household paints, stains and solvents. Weather plays a key role in ozone formation. The highest ozone levels are usually recorded in summer months when temperatures approach the high 80s and 90s and when the wind is stagnant or light.

At ground level, ozone pollution is harmful to all of us, especially the young and elderly. Ozone can also trigger attacks and symptoms in individuals with pre-existing health conditions, such as asthma or other respiratory infections. High levels of ozone pollution often affect healthy people who work or exercise outdoors and can cause breathing difficulties, eye irritation and reduced resistance to lung infections and colds with exposure for prolonged periods.

Ozone-causing emissions come from a wide range of public activities. Some ozone-reduction activities Front Range citizens can do to reduce ground-level ozone include:

• Stop at the click – do not overfill gas tanks when refueling.
• Keep vehicles regularly maintained.
• Tighten gas caps after refueling.
• Mow in the evening after 5:00 p.m.
• Refuel in the evening after 5:00 p.m.
• Use new, earth-friendly lawn equipment.
• Avoid solvent-based products, which have pollution causing vapors – volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Use water-based paint, stain and sealants.

“We’re asking people to take care of our summer air by taking some simple steps, which will help curb summertime ozone pollution and ensure we can all breathe easier this summer,” said Ken Lloyd, executive director of the RAQC.

In a recent telephone survey of 400 respondents in the seven-county metro-Denver area:

• Seven in 10 respondents (72%) said that air pollution negatively impacted the health of residents in the metro-Denver area to a “major” or “moderate extent.”
• Nearly two-thirds felt that air pollution had at least a moderately negative influence on the reputation of the area.
• 95% of respondents said they would be willing to make behavior changes to improve Denver’s air quality if it would improve the health of adults and children with respiratory problems.

While the region is in compliance with the new, stricter ozone standard set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, it continues to flirt with the limit. The region has until 2007 to maintain compliance and receive an official attainment designation from the federal government. The RAQC is asking citizens to make voluntary changes in behavior to ensure that the Front Range region will continue to meet federal air quality standards.

The Voluntary Ozone Reduction Program began in 1999 in response to unusually high ozone levels in the summer of 1998. The RAQC’s 2005 ozone education campaign – with the theme “Let’s take care of our summer air” – comprises issuance of Ozone Action Alerts, advertising and community events. In addition, a new educational Web site with information on the Front Range’s ground-level ozone challenge will launch on June 1 at www.OzoneAware.org.

For additional information on ground-level ozone, please visit www.OzoneAware.org or the RAQC’s Web site at www.raqc.org or call (303) 629-5450.

About Regional Air Quality Council
The Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) is the lead air quality planning agency for the seven-county Denver metropolitan area. In existence since 1989, the Council’s main purpose is to develop plans and programs to keep the region in compliance with federal air quality standards, with significant input from area citizens, business, and local governments. The RAQC also oversees the development and implementation of air quality outreach and education programs throughout the region.