CRHS PTSA Environmental Committee

WORKING TO PROMOTE ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS   

 

CHAIRMAN: SOFIA PERUZZI

Ozone and How it Impacts the Health of Our Children

What is Ozone? Ozone, O3, is an unstable, blue, foul-smelling gas that is sometimes used to treat industrial waste, to bleach, or to purify water. In the stratosphere, 10-30 miles above the earth's surface, it absorbs dangerous UV-B rays. By contrast, at ground-level, ozone is a component of urban smog and is formed when we have a combination of heat, sunlight, nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds such as gasoline vapors. Even at low levels, ground-level ozone can be harmful to your lungs and may cause permanent lung damage after long-term exposure. It can also cause damage to plants and ecosystems 1.

Children are more susceptible to the effects of ozone since they have a more rapid breathing rate than that of adults relative to their body weight and lung surface area. The American Lung Association also writes that children are unlikely to understand the biological warnings associated with ozone exposure, nor take measures to reduce their exposure such as stopping their exercise or moving indoors2. The Galveston Houston Smog Association3, states that in a study in Houston of children with asthma, lung capacity was reduced by 20% after being outdoors for three hours when ozone was greater than 120ppb. Another study showed that ozone sickens asthmatic children at levels well below the eight hour standard of 80ppb4. Ozone is known to impair lung development in healthy children as well4.

According to the American Lung Association, in Harris County alone, there is total sensitive population of 1,004,297 people8 of these 85,194 are children under the age of 14 that suffer from asthma.

EPA Air Quality Guide – Figure 1

Air Quality

Air Quality Index

 

AQI for Ozone  (ppb)

 

Protective Measures

Good (green)

0-50

 

0 to 79

 

No health impacts are expected when air quality is in this range.

Moderate (yellow)

51-100

 

80 to 109

 

Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.

Unhealthy for
Sensitive Groups (orange)

101-150

 

110 to 144

 

Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.

 

Unhealthy  (red)

 

151-200

 

145 to 174

Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid prolonged outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.

Very
Unhealthy *
(Alert)  (Purple)

201-300

175 to 404

Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid all outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit outdoor exertion.

An AQI over 300 (maroon) trigger health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.

About the Air Quality Index: The EPA publishes, along with other agencies, an Air Quality Index. This number reflects how clean the air is and recommends specific protective measures (see Figure 1, Air Quality Guide).The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission publishes hourly AQI for several pollutants as well as 8 hour averages. Figure 1 also shows the AQI for ozone. You can check the ozone status in your area by logging on to the following web site from the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission at http://www.tnrcc.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/monops/psi_rpt and then clicking on Houston. There you will also find information and explanation of the ozone AQI and get a better understanding of it.

There are no healthy levels of ozone: According to the EPA, ”Even at relatively low levels, ozone may cause inflammation and irritation of the respiratory tract, particularly during physical activity. The resulting symptoms can include breathing difficulty, coughing, and throat irritation. Breathing ozone can affect lung function and worsen asthma attacks. Ozone can increase the susceptibility of the lungs to infections, allergens, and other air pollutants. Medical studies indicate that ozone damages lung tissue and that complete recovery may take several days after exposure has ended”.

Ozone in Katy: High ozone levels are not exclusive to areas close to industries. Ozone can travel for miles and depending on wind patterns affect our area5. The monitors that take readings closest to us are Katy Park C559, Westhollow C410 and West Houston C554. The Katy Park readings are measured at 24927 Morton Rd while the Westhollow monitor is located on highway 6, close to the West Oaks Mall. Katy had 5 days in October 2008 where ozone levels exceeded 51ppb and 1 day when it exceeded 151ppb7. You can subscribe to receive ozone warnings and alerts at the Harris County Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Management website at http://www.hcoem.org/ under ozone alerts.

At CRHS, the current practice is to limit prolonged outdoor exercise at level orange or above.

Conclusions:

·         Children are more susceptible than adults to the detrimental effects of ozone. Because their lungs are still developing they are considered in the sensitive group.

·         It is important that parents establish policies to use at home regarding exercise during high ozone days. We are not going to hold our breath until policies are established and enforced to guarantee clean air for us and our children. We must establish and enforce our own set of rules for high ozone days specific to our personal circumstances and health. If your child is asthmatic he or she is at a greater risk of an asthmatic episode with a yellow ozone warning, meaning recovery could take several days. Ask yourself and your child if it is worth exercising during these conditions.

·          If you are an active adult or your child is active in sports, you may want to exercise in the early morning or late evening when ozone levels are lowest.

For more information on ozone go to:

          Air Quality Index (AQI) Report
      http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/aqi_rpt.pl
   Air Quality Warnings Status
      http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/warning_status.pl
   Map of Current ozone levels
      http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/select_curlev.pl
   Current hourly ozone data by site
      http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/daily_average.pl
   Ozone Animations
      http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/ozone_animation.pl
   Ozone forecast information
      http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/ozone_actionday.pl
   Monitoring site locations
      http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/site_info.pl
   American Lung Association
      http://www.texaslung.org
   Environmental Protection Agency, Air Now
      http://airnow.gov
 

 

References:

1 EPA http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/ozone/hlth.html

2 The American Lung Association. http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=44567&printmode=1

3 The Galveston-Houston Association for Smog Prevention (GHASP) http://www.ghasp.org/

4 Environmental Defense. Proposed EPA Conformity Rule Would Allow Increased Pollution From Highways, Threatening Public Health: A review of Impacts in 12 cities by Michael Replogle, Dr. John Balbus, M.D., Tracy Freuder. Dec 2003. http://www.environmentaldefense.org/documents/3461_ACF1443.pdf

5 Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission- http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/assets/public/compliance/monops/air/sigevents/04/040920ani-houo3.htmll

6 Environmental Protection Agency. www.epa.gov/airnow.

7 Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission   http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/cgi-bin/compliance/monops/monthly_summary.

8 The American Lung Association http://lungaction.org/reports/sota04_county.html?fcc=48201

 

Did you know? A study by Susan Sumner at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln showed that vinegar and 3% hydrogen peroxide can be used as an effective disinfectant against E-coli bacteria? It doesn’t matter which one you spray first; it is an inexpensive way to disinfect produce and cooking surfaces and non-toxic as well. Read more at Science News On-line.

 
 last updated 10/10/2009    CRHS PTSA HOME