Atlanta drivers are all too familiar with the Georgia
Department of Transportation electronic signs warning, "Ozone Alert Day."
The warning flashed on 35 days last year. On 22 of them, ozone hit unhealthy levels.
The problem prompted Gov. Zell Miller to sign an executive order requiring all state
agencies, departments and universities in the 13-county area to submit a detailed ozone
action plan by March 31. The order called for plans that would reduce single-occupancy
vehicle trips by 20 percent.
"Our long-term goal is to do that all summer every summer, whether there is an
ozone alert or not," Miller said. "Our aim is that every state employee carpools
or takes mass transit or telecommutes at least one day a week as a common practice."
Plans to start such things as telecommuting, alternative work schedules and incentives
to use transit are being finalized.
"There are 13 counties in the metro area that don’t meet the EPA ground-level
ozone standards," said Pam Earl of the Georgia
Environmental Protection Division.
The EPD has a team of forecasters who meet every day to forecast the next day’s ozone
levels. If they believe the ozone will reach unhealthful levels, they designate the next
day an "Ozone Action Day."
The warnings had an impact. "On some Ozone Action Days, we saw a reduction in
peak-hour traffic," said Jeane Pierce, who coordinates the EPD
Ozone is a colorless gas. It forms when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds
combine in sunlight. The ozone "season" is May 1 through September 30.
"Generally, our ozone concentrations are highest during June, July and
August," said Jerry Walker, a
plant pathologist with the University of Georgia
"This year we had some in May."
May 13 was Atlanta’s first ozone action day this year.
Pollutants from cars, trucks and other sources merge with hot, stagnant air to create
high ozone levels. Ground-level ozone is a serious lung irritant.
High ozone levels can cause breathing difficulties in the elderly, children, athletes,
people who work outside and those with respiratory problems. It makes outdoor activities
unhealthy.
"I think we should be concerned," Walker said. "This is the worst U.S.
pollutant we have. Atlanta contributes to this through the number of automobiles we
have."
Walker worries, too, about plants in high ozone levels. For the past 24 years, he has
followed ozone levels closely. He has found that some plants can’t take it.
"For example, tulip trees (yellow poplars) and grapes have a hard time," he
said. "We found some damage to wild black cherry trees. And if those high ozone
levels came earlier in the summer — say in June or July — we could have seen more damage
to trees and to flowers such as petunias."
Walker is studying how ozone affects plants in the new
Experiment Station in Griffin, Ga. The state-of-the-art facility has special growth
chambers to help researchers study environmental effects on plants.
