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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 September is Ozone.
The
Environmental Assistance Office located several websites that are
useful in explaining ozone and why it is an issue in Mecklenburg
County and beyond. There are sites to gain background basic
information, evaluate historic and current data, understand
regulations, and review actions to reduce ozone levels.
The
LUESA (Land Use and Environmental Services Agency) press release of
April 12, 2004 explains non-attainment issues and how they relate to
the City of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Steps to reduce ozone
include use of mass transit, flexible worker schedule, and more
aggressive enforcement of smoking vehicle laws. Being non-attainment
can have economic impact by slowing business expansions and poor air
quality labeling for the area.
Visit
the website
here.
In
this issue:
What is Lower Level
Ozone and Why Is It an Issue?
Ozone (O3) is a gas with three oxygen atoms. At ground
level it is created by motor vehicle exhaust and industrial
emissions. It is formed by nitrogen oxides (NOx) and
volatile organic compounds (VOC). In the presence of sunlight and
hot weather it can be created in harmful concentrations. Ozone is
known as a summertime air pollutant.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Website Ozone Homepage is
an excellent resource for basic information about ozone. This site
allows one to navigate to increase their knowledge level and check
air quality related to health risks.
http://www.epa.gov/epahome/ozone.htm
What is Upper Level
Ozone and
Why Is It an Issue?
Upper atmospheric ozone is good because it protects earth from
ultraviolet rays. An abundance of ozone in the atmosphere near earth
is bad, while the depletion of the ozone in the upper atmosphere is
causing a hole in the Antarctic region that's affecting the weather
patterns closer to the earth. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA) ozone layer website gives basic information
about earth ozone, shows research progress, answers questions, and
gives data.
The data section shows historical and current upper atmosphere ozone
levels for the North Pole, South Pole, and several other locations.
The science link has general information about ozone and how it
impacts life on earth. Check out all of the information at this
link:
http://www.ozonelayer.noaa.gov/index.htm
See upper level ozone information from a satellite to help
educate and give global and local perspectives on the ozone.
Total Ozone Mapping Spectrophotometer data from National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA) is available through this website
http://toms.gsfc.nasa.gov/
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What
Are the Rules and Regulations for Ozone Air Quality Compliance?
Eight hour ground level ozone designations webpage from
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Ozone Website explains
regulations and attainment standards. The Clean Air Rules will help
to improve air quality giving benefits of improved health, longevity
and quality of life for all Americans. EPA’s final designations for
non-attainment were given on April 15, 2004.
http://www.epa.gov/ozonedesignations/
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What Cities Have Done to Address Ozone
Issues?
Atlanta
Regional Commission’s Air Quality Workshop held topics on Why Clean
Air Act is Important to You, Implementation, Everything You Need to
Know about Ozone and Particulates, Modeling, What Is Being Done, New
Standards and Rules, and Hot Topics. The entire workshop reports and
PowerPoint slides can be viewed at:
http://www.atlantaregional.com/transportationair/5aac3691faf14b1aa1795461a96e9ae9.htm
Tips
on what each of us can do to prevent ozone is found through links to
“What you can do to help” at:
http://www.cleanaircampaign.com/sec03_a.asp
Texas
addresses the issues of air quality and its need for action. It
includes a discussion of the potential causes for poor air quality
and also some potential solutions to help improve the air quality.
“Small businesses and Minor Air Pollution Sources” relate how
individually they are not large contributors to the amounts of
pollution to the atmosphere; however, taken collectively they can
emit more of some types of pollutants than do some individual larger
industries. The cost of air pollution controls is rated by type to
show that the largest impacts occur with furniture manufacturers,
auto paint shops, gasoline stations, and printing shops. Check out
the State of Texas Environmental Profiles:
http://www.texasep.org/html/air/air2.html
Maricopa County in
Phoenix,
Arizona shows what can be accomplished when citizens are aware of
how to prevent ozone. Activities of carpooling, riding buses or
bicycles, fueling after 4pm, and not using household gas powered
tools resulted in reduced ozone emissions and ozone compliance.
Results from a citizen’s survey before and after Ozone Awareness
Campaign are shown at:
http://www.maricopa.gov/envsvc/AIR/AIRDAY/oz1999.asp
Yearly ozone data is charted at:
AIRDAY
“The
Air We Breathe” from the Charlotte Commuter discusses ozone
in the Charlotte area giving air quality information, regulations
update, the ranking among US cities with respect to ozone, and ways
citizens can reduce ozone contributions.
http://charlotte.commuter.com/story.php?pEdition=nc&pIssue=0306&pStory=0
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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.
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