What is Ozone?
Just because you don't see smog, don't be fooled.
The Kansas City region's air can be unhealthy.
Our atmosphere is made up of two kinds of ozone:
Good - the ozone layer high above the Earth protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation
Bad - ground-level ozone
Ground-level ozone
Most people think of smog when they hear the words "ground-level ozone," but it’s more than a dirty-looking cloud on the horizon. Ground-level ozone, or ozone pollution, forms when emissions from motor vehicles, lawn mowers, power plants and industry react with heat and sunlight. Ozone pollution is harmful for everyone, especially to people with respiratory problems such as asthma.
Children are also at high risk when the ozone level reaches "Alert" status. Ground-level ozone makes it difficult for your lungs to absorb oxygen and limits your body’s ability to breathe, making you cough.
Contributing factors
Despite what you may have heard, dangerous air is not created solely by industry. Although it’s true that coal-burning industrial plants and chemical companies contribute to the problem, more than 60 percent of ozone pollution is caused by everyday people doing everyday things.
Things like what time of day you fill your car, how often you drive your car for errands, and when you mow your lawn all impact our air quality. For more tips on reducing pollution, visit this page.
Measuring ozone
For health reasons, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) places limits on how much ground-level ozone our air can contain. In fact, on March 12, 2008, the EPA announced that it's changing national ground-level ozone standards to better protect public health. For more information on the change, check out this PDF flier.
There are ozone monitors around our region that measure exactly how much ozone our air contains. The SkyCast is a daily forecast of this information that is available via media outlets, the Web and local weather forecasts.