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Air Quality Monitoring and Forecasting in Hampton Roads

The Clean Air Act requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) for pollutants considered harmful to public health and the environment.  The EPA has set NAAQS for six principal pollutants: Carbon Monoxide, Lead, Nitrogen Dioxide, Particulate Matter, Ozone, and Sulfur Dioxide.  Of these six pollutants, Ozone is the only one that has historically been a problem in Hampton Roads.

Ground-level ozone is a primary constituent of smog and has been linked to short-term health concerns, particularly among children, asthmatics, people with heart or lung disease, and older adults.  Ozone is formed when nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) react in the presence of sunlight.  NOx forms quickly from emissions from cars, trucks, buses, power plants, and off-road equipment.  NOx is also produced naturally in soils and as part of the nitrogen cycle through nitrification and denitrification of the organic nitrogen in animal wastes.  While some VOCs occur naturally in the environment, others occur only as a result of manmade activities.  VOCs are often compounds of fuels, refrigerants, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, solvents, hydraulic fluids, paints and paint thinners, and dry-cleaning agents.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) monitors levels of ozone at three stations in Hampton Roads.  In addition, DEQ releases air quality forecasts and health alerts, based on an Air Quality Index, daily during the summer months when ground level ozone is a problem.

About the Air Quality Index

The Air Quality Index is a measurement of air quality that is calculated from ozone and fine particle pollution measurements over the past few hours. A higher AQI indicates a higher level of air pollution, and consequently, a greater potential for health problems.

Past forecasts of an Unhealthy ozone condition in Hampton Roads:

• 7/6/2010       Code Red as of 1:00 pm on 7/6/2010
• 7/6/2010       Code Orange forecast for 7/7/2010
• 8/11/2010       Code Red as of 1:00 pm on 8/11/2010

Click here for the current ozone conditions in Hampton Roads and other regions of Virginia. (http://www.deq.virginia.gov/airquality/)

Click here for information on exceedances of the eight-hour standard in 2010.
(http://www.deq.virginia.gov/airquality/2010exceed.html )

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Hampton Roads TPO
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Chesapeake, VA 23320
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