Ozone - Doesn't That Protect Us From the lun Rays? Yes and no. Ozone has a good side and a bad side. We have heard about the hole in the ozone layer; strato- spheric ozone (Dr. Jekyll) is the protective layer 10-30 miles above the earth. Ground-level or tropospheric ozone (Mr. Hyde) is the primary constituent of smog, and is a colorless gas, that can be harmful to humans and vegetation. Ground-level ozone is of particular concern during the summer months.

Ozone is formed when in the presence of sunlight vola- tile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) react.

I -VOCs are emitted from such sources as cars, gasoline, paints, cleaning solvents, and some natural sources.

-NOx is a byproduct of combustion and is emitted from any combustion source such as vehicles, utility boilers, lawn care equipment, and industrial sources.

Based on available data, NOx is the more important

A Code Orange Alert will be announced when the ozone levels are between 88 and 100 percent of the

'- national ozone standard. A Code Red Alert will be ; issued when the ozone levels are above 100. These

alerts will be announced through the newspaper, television, radio, and local employers. On these days, we ask that you try at least one of the seven tips below to help prevent exceedances of the ozone standard.

I What Can I Do To Reduce 6round-level Ozone? Take your lun(h. Or walk to a nearby restaurant. This reduces the number of vehicles on the road during the daylight hours.

1 Drive it right. When do drive your car, use cruise control whenever practical. Avoid sudden stops and starts, avoid idling for long periods of time and stay within the speed limit. Plan your car trips so that you combine a number of short trips.

Do it at dujk. Postpone refueling your car until after 6:00 pm. This reduces the emissions during the peak daylight hours when ozone formation is most likely. And remember not to top off the tank after the pump has shut itself off to avoid spills of gasoline and unnecessary VOC emissions.

Itay tuned. Keep your car, boat, and lawn equipment tuned up. Well-maintained engines are more fuel efficient and emit less air pollutants; therefore, a once-a-year tune up makes good economical and environmental sense.

I Leave your car. Take the bus, car pool, van pool, walk or ride your bike to where you are going.

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.Alternative fuels for our cars that could result in higher gas prices

Restrictions on the location and expansion of industry that would slow economic growth by keeping new job opportunities from coming into our urban areas

To prevent mandatory control measures, voluntary control programs, such as N.C. Air Awareness, are being implemented. These voluntary measures ask that the public, business, and industry do their part to reduce emissions during potential high ozone days.

W h a t Ir N( Awarenerr a n d Ozone Action Dayr? The N.C. Air Awareness Program is an education and outreach program that will provide the general public, businesses, and school children with information on air pollution, its causes, its effects, and what can be done to prevent it. As part of this program, announcements will be made when there exists a potential for the ozone standard to be exceeded.

pollutant to control to lower ozone levels in North Caro- lina. This is primarily because of the abundance of natu- rally occurring VOC's from trees which cannot be con- trolled.

In North Carolina's urban areas more than 60 percent of NOx emissions are from cars.

Why should You (are About bround-level Ozone? Believe it or not, in 1990, North Carolina had three urban areas that were on EPA's list of areas with an ozone pollution problem. But thanks to new federal standards for motor vehicle emissions and efforts by the State and local governments, as well as industries reducing pollut- ants, these areas have been removed from EPA's list. However, recently ozone levels have been increasing. If this trend continues, North Carolina's urban areas could be on EPA's list again.

According to the U.S. EPA, in 1995, ozone pollution caused more than $2.7 billion in crop damage nation- wide.

Ozone is especially harmful to young children and the elderly. It can also aggravate asthma, and cause breath- ing problems in healthy adults.

Due to North Carolina's rapid growth in population and increased vehicle use, our areas are prime candidates for high ozone values that could exceed the national stan- dards.

If North Carolina violates the standards in our urban areas, we could face the following additional regulations:

.Vehicle emissions testing programs in counties that do not currentlv have these Droarams

(onrtrve elemicity. When at home, set your thermostat at the highest temperature at which you are comfortable (try 78 degrees). Use a ceiling fan to circulate the cool air. When everyone is away or asleep, set the thermostat at a warmer temperature. Turn off appliances when not in use.

(ut it out. Try not to cut the grass. Use hand-powered or electric lawn care equipment whenever possible. If you must use gas-powered equipment, wait until after 6:00 pm.

Where Do I bet More Information? To find out more information about N.C. Air Awareness call 1 -888-RU4NCAIR (1 -888-784-6224). Check us out on the web: http://daq.state.nc.us

For more information about air pollution issues in Charlotte call the Mecklenburg County Department of Environmental Protection (704) 336-5500.

To find out more information about air pollution issues in Winston-Salem call the Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department (91 0) 727-8064.

for more information about air pollution issues in Buncombe and Haywood Counties call the Western North Carolina Regional Air Pollution Control Agency (704) 255-5655.

To find out more information about car pooling and transit routes call your local transit authority or your city Department of Transportation.

N O R T H C A R , O L I N A

100,000 copies of this public document were printed at a cost of $4,475.C0 @ m , -7G M. m n x r 07-74, rn r-c-1, - M r ,,