Although halogens released from long-lived anthropogenic substances, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), are the principal cause of the recent depletion of stratospheric ozone, recent observations show that very short-lived substances (VSLS), with lifetimes generally under six months, are also an important source of stratospheric halogens. At present, naturally-emitted VSLS account for around 90% of the total ozone loss caused by VSLS in the lower stratosphere. MORE

USPresident Barack Obama has requested that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdraw its Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) rulemaking. The standards had been proposed for ground-level ozone in January 2010 with final standards expected to be released at the end of August the same year with provisions based on scientific evidence about [.]. MORE

Denver represents an interesting case study for exploring potential PHEV impacts because it violates the federal air quality standard for ozone and because several large EGUs [electricity generating units] are located in or near the urbanized area. The ozone response to PHEV penetration was modeled under a wide range of meteorological conditions, as experienced during July 2006. Ozone concentration increases were modeled for small areas near central Denver. MORE

Japan) report in the journal Angewandte Chemie the development of a mesoporous two-line ferrihydrite (2LFh)—ferrihydrite is a widespread mineral composed of iron, oxygen, and water—that could lead to a new generation of ozone filters in electrostatic devices and aircraft applications. MORE

Ozone pollution across the continental United States will become far more difficult to keep in check as temperatures rise, according to new work led by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR). The study shows that Americans face the risk of a 70% increase in unhealthy summertime ozone levels by 2050, assuming continued greenhouse gas emissions with resultant significant warming (IPCC Scenario A2 and RCP (Representative Concentration Pathway) 8.5.). Ozone formation. MORE

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced two final rules that will further reduce the availability and use of hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), which are primarily used as refrigerants and harm the ozone layer. A diminished ozone layer allows more radiation to reach the Earth’s surface, leading to serious health effects, such as skin cancer, cataracts, and weakened immune systems. MORE

A study by researchers at the University of Texas found that in general, use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) can lead to an increase in ozone during nighttime hours (due to decreased scavenging from both vehicles and EGU stacks) and a decrease in ozone during daytime hours. In addition, the study, published in the IOP journal Environmental Research Letters , found that charging plug-in vehicles at night could slightly reduce, on average, ozone. MORE

A new international study suggests that springtime ozone levels above western North America are rising mainly because of air flowing eastward from the Pacific Ocean – a trend at its largest when the air originates in Asia. This could even make it difficult for the US to meet Clean Air Act standards for ozone pollution. MORE

Researchers at the University of Texas believe that the use of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles will increase ozone during night-time hours while decreasing ozone during the day. Ozone is formed as hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides react with sunlight as they are emitted into the air. Green cars Hybrid cars Latest news ozone ozone levels plug-in hybrid cars plug-in hybrid electric cars University of Texas MORE

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh have developed a fluorescent molecular probe that can selectively detect ozone—in preference to other reactive oxygen species—in both atmospheric and biological samples. Ground-level ozone exposure is a growing global health problem, especially in urban areas. Ground-level ozone is toxic and can damage the respiratory tract. MORE

Additionally, the study found that the population-weighted mean concentrations of ozone increased globally by 8.9% An additional 217,000 deaths were attributable to long-term ozone exposure. and ozone (O 3 ). Somewhat similar patterns were also evident for ozone. MORE

Depletion of Antarctic ozone is a more important factor than increasing greenhouse gases in shifting the Southern Hemisphere jet stream in a southward direction, according to researchers at Penn State. According to Lee, based on modeling studies, both ozone depletion and greenhouse gas increase are thought to have contributed to the southward shift of the Southern Hemisphere jet stream, with the former having a greater impact. MORE

BASF announced the commercial launch of PremAir NXT, a next-generation direct ozone reduction (DOR) catalytic coating technology for heat exchange surfaces such as radiators that can help automakers meet new US Tier 3 and California LEV III emissions reduction requirements. it converts ground-level ozone already in the air. MORE

A European air pollutant report reveals a significant fall in the emissions of sulphur oxides and other ozone-forming pollutants over the last two decades. The official EU emission inventory report compiled by the European Environment Agency (EEA) shows that the 27 countries that make make up the European Union have collectively cut sulphur emissions (SOx) [.]. MORE

Air pollution and ground-level ozone may worsen the impact that climate change is having on food crop production around the world, according to new research. MORE

Counties where measured ozone is above proposed range of standards, based on 2011-2013 monitoring data. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing tightening the ground-level 8-hour ozone (O 3 ) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to within a range of 65 to 70 parts per billion (ppb), while taking comments on a level as low as 60 ppb. EPA will issue final ozone standards by 1 October 2015. MORE

Springtime ozone distributions for 1984, 1995–2008 in the mid-troposphere (3.0–8.0 Springtime ozone levels above western North America are rising primarily due to air flowing eastward from the Pacific Ocean, a trend that is largest when the air originates in Asia. MORE

Summertime ozone pollution levels in the northern Front Range periodically spike above 70 parts per billion (ppb), which is considered unhealthy—on average, 17 ppb of that ozone is produced locally. Colorado has been out of compliance with federal ozone standard since 2007. MORE

issued its final rule revising the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for ground-level ozone to 70 parts per billion (ppb) from 75 ppb to protect public health. Ground-level ozone forms when nitrogen oxides (NO x ) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react in the air. EPA examined nearly 2,300 studies in this review of the ozone standards including more than 1,000 new studies published since the last review of the standards in 2008. MORE

A study by an international team led by scientists at the University of East Anglia have identified four new man-made gases in the atmosphere, all of which are contributing to the destruction of the ozone layer. CFCs are the main cause of the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica. The identification of these four new gases is very worrying as they will contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer. MORE

A team from Rice University and the Houston Fire Department EMS has found a direct correlation between out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) and levels of air pollution and ozone. Given that the American Lung Association has ranked Houston eighth in the United States for high-ozone days, Rice statisticians Katherine Ensor and Loren Raun, and David Persse, Houston Fire Department EMS physician director, set out to see if there is a link between ambient ozone levels and cardiac arrest. MORE

Some of the substitutes for ozone-damaging chemicals that being phased out worldwide under international agreements are themselves potent greenhouse gases and contribute to warming. MORE

The US Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is proposing to find that the San Joaquin Valley, and California’s South Coast and the Southeast Desert have failed to meet the 1-hour ozone standard by their required deadlines. Children and the elderly are most impacted by ozone pollution. The 1-hour ozone standard was superseded in 2005 by the health-based 8-hour ozone standard. In 1997, the EPA first established the 8-hour ozone standard (0.08 MORE

Exposure to ozone, long associated with impaired lung function, is also connected to health changes that can cause cardiovascular disease such as heart attack, high blood pressure and stroke, according to a new study of Chinese adults. The findings associated ozone exposure with markers of platelet activation and increased blood pressure. They monitored indoor and outdoor ozone levels, along with other pollutants. The 24-hour ozone exposure concentrations ranged from 1.4 MORE

A new statistical method developed by researchers at KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, Saudi Arabia) can detect abnormal ozone levels within large bodies of monitored data. The monitoring methods can quickly and accurately detect ozone anomalies—localized spikes in ozone concentration indicated by sensor data. Ozone is the reactive form of oxygen that contains three atoms per molecule (O 3 ) rather than the normal two. MORE

have developed a simulator able to predict tropospheric ozone concentrations across the whole of South and East Asia. Tropospheric ozone is the main cause of photochemical smog, an atmospheric pollutant harmful to human health and plant growth. As these photochemical reaction pathways are very complex, reduction of NO x and VOC emissions may not necessarily be effective in reducing tropospheric ozone concentrations. Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) and Toyota Central R&D Labs., MORE

In the August issue of the American Thoracic Society’s American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine , it states that exposure to ozone at levels currently deemed safe by the NAAQS clean air standards can have a significant negative effect on lung function. The US Environmental Protection Agency established a primary eight-hour standard for ozone of 0.075 parts per million in March 2008. MORE

Ozone, the main component of smog, is a plant-damaging pollutant formed by emissions from vehicles, cooking stoves and other sources. New research shows that ozone pollution damaged millions of tons of wheat, rice, soybean and cotton crops in India in 2005. Surface ozone pollution in India damaged 6 million metric tons (6.7 Rising emissions are causing severe ozone pollution in some of India’s most populated regions. Smog in India. MORE

ozone There are so many reasons ethanol shouldn't be priority #1 in America's quest for petroleum replacement. I blogged about this previously here. Yet another reason to think again about the ethanol craze in an article in today's LA Times. Of our "alternative fuel" options, only electricity can truly be made renewably (wind, solar, geothermal, small hydro), with no carbon or other noxious emissions. And only electric drive cars can operate truly zero-emission. MORE

VOCs and nitrogen oxides react with sunlight to form ground-level ozone, the main component of smog. The team also observed chemical transformations of the emissions from Decatur, including formation of new particles, nitric acid, peroxyacyl nitrates, aldehydes, ozone and sulfate aerosol. New airborne measurements downwind from an Archer Daniels Midland fuel ethanol plant in Decatur, Illinois, show that ethanol emissions are 30 times higher than government baseline estimates. MORE

A new report released by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) has sent a stark warning on the effects of climate change on ozone levels in the state’s major air basins. According to scientists from the University of California at Davis and Berkeley, rising temperatures will increase ozone levels while peak concentrations of dangerous airborne [.]. MORE

A study by a pair of researchers at Northwestern University found that when fuel prices drove residents of São Paulo, Brazil, to switch from ethanol to gasoline in their flexible-fuel vehicles, local ozone levels dropped 20%. Ozone levels are relatively high in São Paulo, with hourly concentrations above 75 and 125 µg m ?3 Geiger (2014) “Reduction in local ozone levels in urban São Paulo due to a shift from ethanol to gasoline use,” Nature Geoscience doi: 10.1038/ngeo2144. MORE

In a statement released this morning, President Barack Obama said he has requested that US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson withdraw the agency’s draft Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) rulemaking. In January 2010, EPA proposed strengthening the NAAQS for ground-level ozone, the main component of smog, and said it planned to issue final standards by 31 August 2010. Overview of January 2010 proposed revisions to ozone NAAQS. MORE

A NASA-led study has documented an unprecedented depletion of Earth’s protective ozone layer above the Arctic last winter and spring caused by an unusually prolonged period of extremely low temperatures in the stratosphere. The study, published online Sunday in the journal Nature , finds the amount of ozone destroyed in the Arctic in 2011 was comparable to that seen in some years in the Antarctic, where an ozone “hole” has formed each spring since the mid 1980s. MORE

In-cylinder pressure (on the left) and heat release rate (on the right) as a function of the CAD and ozone concentration injected in the intake of the engine for PRF40. The results show that ozone seeding improves combustion and advances phasing. Now, researchers in France have added to that body of work by showing that ozone seeding in the intake of an HCCI engine can control HCCI combustion. Ozone was produced with an ozone generator. MORE

The largest systematic study ever conducted of human volunteers exposed to ozone air pollution has found no evidence of effects on the heart in its healthy, older participants, but did find effects on the volunteers’ ability to breathe, even at low ambient levels. MORE

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will reconsider the 2008 primary and secondary ozone standards. In 2008, EPA established a new primary 8-hour standard for ozone of 0.075 parts per million (ppm), and a new secondary standard set at a form and level identical to the new primary standard. The agency will propose any revisions to the ozone standards by December 2009 and will issue a final decision by August 2010. MORE

Researchers from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of Colorado, Boulder and their colleagues have now shown that this changing global emissions map is creating more total tropospheric ozone worldwide compared to the amount of pollution being emitted, signaling an effect that could be difficult to reign in without strategic policy planning. Emissions are growing in places where there is a much greater effect on the formation of ozone. MORE

Tags: Green credentials air pollution airborne EAC Jim Fitzpatrick ozone premature deaths soot sulphur MORE

Black carbon and tropospheric ozone are harmful air pollutants that also contribute to climate change. Reducing black carbon and tropospheric ozone now will slow the rate of climate change within the first half of this century, the study said. MORE

As California continues to reduce local sources of ozone, ozone entering the state from the Pacific makes up a larger fraction of measured ozone levels. Current ozone levels in the San Joaquin Valley are predominantly caused by local emissions, but as air quality standards become lower, any contribution from global ozone levels needs to be understood. An ozonesonde is a balloon which measures ozone from the surface to more than 10 kilometers above the ground. MORE

Researchers from Rice University and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report in a paper in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry that particularly in Northeastern cities, ozone levels dropped even beyond what was anticipated by cutting emissions of NO x from 2002 to 2006. The study suggests the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model significantly under-predicted the reduction in ozone. How ozone responds to changes in NO x and hydrocarbons is a nonlinear chemistry. MORE

Extraordinarily cold temperatures in the stratosphere during the winter of 2010/2011 caused the most massive destruction of the ozone layer above the Arctic so far, according to a study by climate researchers at KIT (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology). MORE