Stratospheric ozone prevents much of the solar ultraviolet radiation from penetration to the earth's surface. Unfortunately, stratospheric ozone is being attacked by human-made pollutants and isundergoing rapid depletion. The other type of ozone is found in the troposphere, the layer of atmosphere closest to the earth's surface. This is a human-made air pollutant and the type of ozone I will focus on. Tropospheric ozone is a secondary air pollutant that forms when sunlight catalyzes a reaction between nitrogen oxides and volatile hydrocarbons.
Ozone reduces air visibility and causes health problems.
This tropospheric ozone, often called ground-level ozone is not onlyhazardous to human health but can cause extensive damage to plants andother materials. This ground-level ozone is formed in the atmosphere as a result of reactions between oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic carbons in the presence of sunlight. Downwind from large urban areas are where the elevated ozone levels are found. When fossil fuels, such as gasoline are burned, a variety of pollutants are emitted into theearth's troposphere. Hydrocarbons and nitric oxide are two pollutantsthat are emitted into the air.