Ozone Season Just Ahead

With ozone season just around the corner, big cities everywhere are getting worried about low visibility and magnified allergies. The season begins Monday, May 1st and extends through September 30th. Jilayne Jordan, Spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Transportation says that, Elderly people, kids with asthma or allergies and people who exercise outdoors that when there's a smog alert day, it's extremely hard on the lungs. Mark Ressler, Senior Meteorologist at The Weather Channel, says weather can worsen the problem. The stagnant conditions of summer can make it worse. You get into the same pattern where the air mass isn't changing. You build up air matter day to day. You get those steely-gray skies and visibility goes down," he said. That means large cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta are prime targets. Atlanta, in particular, is facing a backlash not just from the environment but from the government as well. According to Jordan, the Federal government has frozen transportation funds because the southern city is not in compliance with current air quality standards, set by the Environmental Protection Agency. We didn't address it when we first realized and now we're paying the price," said Jordan. The reason, big cities are so vulnerable to ozone season is a simple matter of numbers. Jordan says that It's becoming a problem where there are a lot of people and a lot of cars. Industries are a problem to. With so many residents suffering from allergies, the conditions can be very uncomfortable. Strategies designed to improve the atmosphere by reducing emissions include carpooling, traveling at non-peak hours, combining trips, biking or walking, and topping off gas tanks after dark. One of the biggest contributors to poor air quality is the building of roads and the use of cars. So if an area cannot comply with the health-based air quality regulations, the government isn't going to provide funds to continue to build roads that will just worsen the problem," said Beth Osborne, Policy Analyst for the Southern Governors' Association. A twenty-five-year plan has been submitted to the EPA in order to get back in compliance. The decision is pending. The Partnership for Smog-Free Georgia is also working to solve the problem by using television to educate the public as well as working with private companies to encourage telecommuting and flexible schedules.