You Can Do Atlantans enjoy a mild climate and beautiful trees, but ozone threatens our enjoyment of the outdoors.
Ozone is an invisible gas composed of three atoms of oxygen.
Miles above the earth's surface, ozone forms naturally and shields us from cancer-causing ultraviolet rays. At ground level, however, the same substance is harmful to our lungs. Volatile organic compound emissions include automobile exhaust, chemical cleaners, paint, and gasoline vapors. The burning and combustion of gasoline, coal, diesel, and other fuels in automobile engines and industrial plants produce nitrogen oxide emissions. In the presence of sunlight, VOCs and NOx react to form ozone.