Non-stop ozone can increase the risk of dying from heart and lung diseases, and can decrease birth weights.
Recent research has underscored the consequences of an unrelenting dose of ozone. The potential consequences are far worse than bunions.
A 2019 study compared long-term average ozone exposure with federal mortality data. It found breathing in more of the pollutant appeared to increase the risk of dying from heart and lung diseases. Other research found people living in areas with high ozone pollution are more likely to develop acute respiratory distress syndrome, a severe condition where the lungs fill with fluid.
Another California study looked into the effect on pregnancies. It found birth weights decreased about 1.7 ounces pounds for every 12 part per billion increase in average ozone levels.
A critical review of multiple studies on long-term ozone pollution found exact consequences of prolonged ozone pollution aren’t entirely clear. For example, it found scientists had not clearly linked the problem with asthma development in children, but it appears to increase the risk of adult-onset asthma in men.
Gerber said those scientific limitations should not come as a surprise. It’s comparatively easy to find the short-term effects of ozone levels on emergency room visits, but it’s far harder to measure the impact of pollution over decades.
“The fact they have found any risk is actually remarkable because you can imagine the complexity of these studies,” Gerber said.
Ozone needs heat and sunlight to form, so cooler and cloudier days are also ozone-lite days.
In the short term, it appears some relief is headed to the Front Range. Frank Flocke, an atmospheric scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said a cold front appears to be headed toward the Front Range this weekend.
The shift in weather will likely take away one of the critical ingredients for ozone. Unlike more direct pollutants, the pollutant forms in the atmosphere from volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides. Heat and sunlight spur the reaction.
With cooler weather and cloud cover, the Front Range will likely get a break from its streak of high ozone days, but possibly not for long.
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July 30, 2021 at 05:07PM
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Colorado's Unrelenting Ozone Pollution Could Mean Long-Term Problems For Your Health - Colorado Public Radio
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