It's not just wildfire smoke you have to worry about. Why sunny days can even be deceiving
Bouts of hazy days and air quality alerts in Delaware, as well as up and down the East Coast, are causes for great concern when it comes to climate change and health.
While code reds have been issued this summer during days of dangerous air quality levels due to Canadian wildfire smoke, those fires aren't the only reason Delaware's air is at times murky or unsafe.
The fires have often caused the particulate matter in the air to reach levels requiring code orange or code red notices. But ozone levels are also an important part of the state's air quality — and those readings can traverse into concerning levels for Delawareans, especially those with existing health concerns.
The state is currently in the midst of its "ozone season" — a time period that spans from May 1 to Sept. 30. Even when the PM level returns to acceptable levels after a string of hazy days, the ozone can cause issues for Delaware air.
What is ozone pollution?
Ozone exists in two layers of the atmosphere — up in the stratosphere, where it absorbs rays from the sun and protects the Earth, and also on a layer closer to the ground, where it acts as a dangerous air pollutant. This is the basis for the Environmental Protection Agency's "good up high, bad nearby" mantra.
Ozone is a "secondary pollutant," meaning it's not directly emitted like particulate matter from Canadian wildfires or wood-burning fireplaces, said Angela Marconi, director of the state's Division of Air Quality for the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control.
Instead, volatile compounds are emitted from vehicles, factories and buildings, which then react with the sunlight and generate ozone on the layer closest to the ground. Because compounds react with sunlight to form ozone, pollution peaks in the mid-afternoon on sunny, hot days.
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University of Delaware professor Cristina Archer, who specializes in climate change and air quality, noted that it's hard for people to grasp that ozone pollution isn't easily attributed to one source. In Delaware, much of the reason for high ozone days comes from surrounding states.
“It’s like a pressure cooker where you put all these things," Archer says. "And so even figuring who’s responsible for what is very, very hard to do.”
Being energy-efficient, not spilling car or lawn mower gasoline, and using carpooling techniques are all ways to combat ozone pollution. But it's impossible to know what exactly contributes to the harmful ground-level ozone without extensive research.
High particulate matter levels can also impact the ozone, though Marconi noted that the two pollutants don't always go hand in hand.
How to track ozone levels
The state issues alerts for days when ozone levels are of concern — just like notices that were sent out earlier this summer for high particulate matter levels due to wildfire smoke.
Delawareans can find these levels and sign up for daily alerts on DNREC's website or use the EPA's tracker.
Since Delaware's ozone season began May 1, there have been 24 days in which monitoring stations in Delaware have recorded "moderate" levels of ozone air quality. The moderate/yellow range does not surpass the EPA's standard for ozone pollution and may pose health risks to "unusually sensitive" people, but not everyone else.
The orange level indicates an exceedance of the EPA's 70 parts per billion standard for ozone pollution, a mark that stations in Delaware have eclipsed three times this summer as of July 10. Last year, there were no exceedances for ozone or particulate matter, Marconi said.
When the state's air quality is at code orange, those with preexisting health conditions are most at risk. At code red, everyone is recommended to limit time outdoors.
Delaware had a code red on June 29, but that was issued due to particulate matter levels. Ozone levels haven't surpassed the orange level this summer as of July 10.
Health risks like 'sunburn of the lungs' you should know
While particulate matter levels may be easier to track due to the visible haze and smog, that doesn't mean ozone exceedances aren't dangerous to health as well.
"Some people might get headaches and kind of wonder why," Marconi said. "And it might just be when there's high ozone. If you can pay attention to that, then you have a better chance of making decisions that are good for your health."
The American Lung Association released its annual State of the Air report in April, a conglomeration of data validated by the EPA from 2019 to 2021. Delaware had mixed results.
The report centered on the two main pollutants − particle pollution and ozone smog − and graded Sussex County an A, Kent County a B, and New Castle County a D for air quality.
In the history of the association's releases, that was the first passing grade for New Castle County, which is included in the Philadelphia metro area that encompasses select counties in Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.
Deb Brown, the chief mission officer of the American Lung Association, noted that the D grade stemmed from seven orange-level days of ozone pollution during those three years. Every day with a high level of ozone at the ground level is dangerous for people with conditions such as lung disease or asthma.
"Even one bad day can be one day too many for the most susceptible individuals and can trigger an asthma attack or heart failure or premature birth," Brown said, noting that ozone pollution is "very powerful."
"It's an oxidant," she added." Some people liken it to household bleach. It can kill living cells on contact. When you inhale ozone, it damages the tissues of your respiratory tract. It can cause irritation and inflammation, and we often liken it to a sunburn of the lungs."
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Health risks are especially high for those disproportionately affected by unsafe air quality, including people of color and outdoor workers.
Communities hit hardest by ozone pollution
Brown says that of the nearly 120 million people who live in "areas with unhealthy air quality," more than 64 million are people of color. The American Lung Association is steadfast in pushing for federal regulations on vehicles and pollution limits to mitigate disparities and inequalities for people of color.
That issue of environmental justice can be seen on a smaller scale along the Route 9 corridor in Delaware, where ozone levels often are higher due to emissions from nearby cities and states compared with the southern part of the state.
Additionally, Archer pointed out that ever since the EPA shifted to measure ozone concentrations as an average of over eight hours instead of a one-hour average, it's become apparent that longer periods of exposure are more dangerous.
“We should be more concerned about prolonged exposure," Archer said. "It’s worse to be exposed to relatively high ozone for eight hours than to be exposed to very high ozone but just for a short time.”
“So if you’re outside for one hour and you go for a run, you’re probably fine. But if you’re an outdoor worker … you should be more concerned.”
However, in her travels around the world to different continents, Archer has seen some of the worst air quality on the globe firsthand. While it's valid to adopt a concerned perspective over the air in the U.S., she emphasized that on most days, the air Delawareans are breathing is "actually quite amazing."
There's still room to grow, with regulations for electric vehicles in the infancy stage, and concerns to be mitigated, such as the Canadian wildfires, but there's also a level of air regulation in America that many countries don't enjoy.
"We can see blue skies," Archer said. "We can see the stars at night."
Advice to avoid risks of ozone pollution
Keeping track of ozone levels through the state's daily tracker and the EPA's AirNow website are the two best ways to plan ahead. But for those with existing health conditions that must spend time outdoors on moderate or high ozone days, such as construction workers, Marconi recommends being prepared at all times.
"My first recommendation is always to keep your medicine handy," she said. "If you have an inhaler or you have something that helps you to breathe, make sure you have it on hand."