Sponsored by the
Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for Small Business at UNC
Charlotte, The Environmental Corner is designed to serve
as an environmental management and pollution prevention
resource. The theme for the month of May 2005 is Ozone. With
the summer months rapidly approaching, this newsletter is a
helpful reminder of what ozone is and what can be done by small
businesses and individuals alike.
In this issue:
What is ozone?
What are the health effects of
ground level ozone?
Air Awareness Forecast
Cutting Pollution When It
Counts!
Environmental Assistance
Office (EAO) for Small Business
What is ozone?
Ozone is an odorless, colorless gas
containing three atoms of oxygen (O3). Ozone can be
found in both the lower atmosphere (near the earth’s surface)
and the upper atmosphere (6 to 30 miles above the earth’s
surface). Ozone is both good and bad depending on its
location.
Ground level ozone is “bad” ozone and can
cause health problems in susceptible individuals. It also
damages crops, trees and other vegetation and is a primary
contributor to smog. Ground level ozone is formed when a
chemical reaction occurs between volatile organic compounds (VOCs)
and nitrogen oxides. Motor vehicle exhaust and industrial
emissions, gasoline vapors, and chemical solvents as well as
natural sources emit nitrogen oxides and VOCs that combine in
the presence of sunlight to form ozone.
Ozone in the upper atmosphere, also called
the stratosphere, is a good thing and protects the earth’s
surface from UV rays that can be damaging. The ozone in the
stratosphere is currently being depleted by chemicals used on
earth such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) which are found in many
aerosol products.
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/ozone.htm
return to top
What are the health effects of ground
level ozone?
Ozone can irritate lung airways and cause
inflammation much like a sunburn. Some of the symptoms from
ozone exposure include:
·
Chest pain
·
Coughing
·
Wheezing
·
Pulmonary and nasal congestion
·
Labored breathing
·
Increased airway permeability and airway
inflammation
·
Faster breathing rates in athletes (the faster the
breathing rate, the greater the amount of ozone that can
penetrate the respiratory tract)
·
Reduced resistance to infections.
People most at risk for problems associated
with ozone are children playing outside, people with existing
lung disease, healthy adults exerting themselves outside, and
athletes exercising outdoors. The elderly are often susceptible
due to pre-existing lung problems.
http://www.vcapcd.org/health.htm#ozone
return to top
Air Awareness Forecast
Local ozone forecasts can be found online
at
http://daq.state.nc.us/airaware/forecast/ and there a
newsletter is available to receive ozone forecast from the North
Carolina Division of Air Quality. Notification options include
a daily ozone forecast or a notification only before Air Quality
Action Days and the newsletter can be received via e-mail or
fax. The form to sign up is available at
http://daq.state.nc.us/airaware/forecast/.
Understanding the color coding and what to
do on the higher ozone level days is explained at
http://www.epa.gov/airnow/health/smog1.html#chart and is
incorporated below for easy access. Additional information
about the topic is available at the AirNow website.
http://www.epa.gov/airnow/health/index.html
Health
Effects and Protective Actions for Specific Ozone Ranges
| Ozone Level |
Health
Effects and Protective Actions
|
| Good |
What are the possible
health effects?
- No health effects are expected.
|
| Moderate |
What are the possible health effects?
- Unusually sensitive individuals
may experience respiratory effects from prolonged
exposure to ozone during outdoor exertion.
What can I do to protect my health?
- When ozone levels are in the "moderate"
range, consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion
if you are unusually sensitive to ozone.
|
Unhealthy for Sensitive
Groups |
What are the possible
health effects?
- If you are a member of a sensitive
group,(1) 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,(1) 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 |
What are the possible
health effects?
- If you are a member of a sensitive
group,(1) 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.
- At this level, anyone could experience
respiratory effects.
What can I do to protect my health?
- If you are a member of a sensitive
group,(1) 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 |
What
are the possible health effects?
- Members of sensitive
groups(1)
will likely experience increasingly severe respiratory
symptoms and impaired breathing.
- Many healthy people
in the general population engaged in moderate exertion
will experience some kind of effect. According to
EPA estimates, approximately:
- Half will experience moderately reduced lung function.
- One-fifth will experience severely reduced lung
function.
- 10 to 15 percent will experience moderate to severe
respiratory symptoms (such as aggravated cough and
pain when taking a deep breath).
- People with asthma
or other respiratory conditions will be more severely
affected, leading some to increase medication usage
and seek medical attention at an emergency room
or clinic.
What can I do
to protect my health?
- If you are a member
of a sensitive group,(1)
avoid outdoor activity altogether. Everyone else—especially
children—should limit outdoor exertion and
avoid heavy exertion altogether.
- 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.
|
return to top
Cutting
Pollution When It Counts!
The Charlotte region's air
quality is one of the greatest challenges we face. The risk of
failure is great. The potential loss of some federal highway
funding; increasingly difficult and wider regulatory air
permitting for industry and increased difficulty in attracting
and retaining business will result if we as a community will not
actively seek solutions to improve the region's air quality.
Your personal
involvement is now needed for a trial program. We are asking
you and your employees to participate in a voluntary program
this summer. This trial program is designed to be simple and
effective in helping improve
Charlotte's air quality.
Pilot
businesses, industries and government organizations can show the
way again this year by writing and activating "Ozone Episode
Plans," which will describe how they will alter certain
activities of their choice only on Ozone Action Days (forecasted
orange, red, purple and above days) this summer.
Such
activities could include: Coordinating carpools, providing
incentives to ride the bus, altering work schedules and getting
the word out about actions that best help your organization to
reducing air pollution.
By agreeing to
evaluate a proposed plan that would require reductions in
commute related emissions…….. you can be part of the solution!
Mecklenburg
County Air Quality (MCAQ) can provide step-by-step instructions
on how to design and measure your own program. MCAQ will also
make available to you additional resources to help identify
other measures, specifically designed for your Company that will
help your Company contribute to our region's efforts to reduce
air pollution. The Environmental
Assistance Office for Small Business is also
available to assist in developing an ozone reduction plan for
your small business.
For additional
information about this program, on the web go to
http://www.charmeck.org/Departments/LUESA/Air+Quality/Episodic+Controls/home.htm
or call MCAQ at (704) 336-5500.
With your
voluntary involvement, we can build on the region's "can-do"
spirit in addressing one of the vital issues of our time.
To help
companies determine the most efficient methods for reducing
ozone, the “Ozone Plan Development Tool” spreadsheet has been
developed to investigate the impact of temporary control
measures along with tracking the planning and progress toward
the goal. Once the requested information has been entered, the
progress toward the goal will automatically be updated. The
spreadsheet can be found at
http://www.charmeck.org/NR/.../devtool.xls and can be
downloaded from this link and saved to the computer’s hard
drive. The file is large and may take some time to download and
open.
return to top
Environmental Assistance Office (EAO) for
Small Business
The Environmental
Assistance Office for Small Business provides
non-regulatory, client-confidential pollution prevention
assistance to small businesses in the greater
Charlotte
region. The EAO is designed to assist regional businesses in
their efforts to voluntarily prevent pollution. The EAO staff
can provide timely assistance for pollution prevention planning,
including information about industry-specific case studies,
waste-specific case studies, and new technologies. The office
provides links of resources to needs between the region's
business community, government, municipality, and university. If
there is a particular issue or question you would like to see in
an upcoming edition, please send an e-mail to
EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu.
Contact Information:
Environmental
Assistance Office for Small Business:
9201 University City Blvd.
136 Kennedy Building, UNC Charlotte,
Charlotte,
NC 28233-0001
Phone number: 704-687-3968 Fax number: 704-687-3115
Email:
EAOforSB@email.uncc.edu
Services:
· Assistance with Air Permits -
Assistance for small businesses in completing paperwork for EPA
air permits.
· Educational Materials -
Educational pamphlet, brochures, flyers, and other materials to
relate facts on pollution prevention.
· Educational Outreach - Develop
educational outreach campaigns and presentations for the public
or employee training.
· University Resources -
Library information, faculty expertise, student projects and
research at both graduate and undergraduate levels.